


Love Isn't Taught

by takethisEll



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Mordred is Morgana's son, gwen is a teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2019-11-06 07:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17935625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/takethisEll/pseuds/takethisEll
Summary: Morgana Fay gave birth at 16, and has been fighting for her son, Mordred, ever since, whether that be to make enough money to support them, or shield him from her toxic family. She has focused her entire life on him, not having any other friends or family or relationships. When she has to move back to her hometown for work, she enrolls Mordred in her old school, Camelot Prep, where she meets his fifth grade teacher, Miss Guinevere Mallory. Gwen is dynamic and strong and she and Morgana are totally smitten for each other. So how long will it take for these two dorks to get together?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am writing this mostly for myself, but am choosing to share it with you. I would love comments and reviews, but please make sure that any criticism offered is constructive, because, while I do hope to improve and wish for you to enjoy my work, I also have no obligation to allow you to read this, because it is my personal work.
> 
> This work is not meant to be heavy in terms of drama and plot twists and angst (although I might get there eventually, I haven’t decided yet). It is meant to be kinda fluffy and funny.
> 
> Some background:
> 
> Modern day AU. Gwen is Mordred’s teacher, Mordred is Morgana’s son, and Morgana is not Uther’s daughter. Uther was Morgana’s mother’s brother, making Morgana and Arthur cousins. Also Morgause doesn’t exist (because I hate her), and neither does Nimueh (because she also pisses me off). Couples/ships to expect: Morgana/Gwen and Merlin/Arthur

“Mordred,” Morgana called upstairs, “we’re going to be late! Shoes, jacket, backpack, lunchbox! Let’s go go go!”

Mordred let out a groan of protest around his toothbrush, before rinsing and spitting out his toothpaste. He dashed out of the bathroom and into the hall, haphazardly pulling on his favorite zip-up hoodie over his uniform, and grabbing his bag and lunchbox from the wall between the kitchen/dining area and the living room. He bounded down the stairs, bouncing slightly as he reached his mother in front of the door. He grinned up at her, and she kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair good-naturedly, before they walked out the front door and loaded into the car parked in the driveway.

Starting the car, Morgana called to the backseat, “Seat belt buckled?”

“Check!” Mordred replied. “Seat belt buckled?” he echoed back to his mother.

“Check!” Morgana responded, turning the radio on. A popular 80s song came on, and Morgana and Mordred began singing along as they drove to Mordred’s new school.

Mordred was 10, and was starting the fifth grade. They’d had to move from their old town back to Camelot, where Morgana had grown up. She’d had to begrudgingly return after she’d been let go from her previous job at a law firm that had just gone under. With no job prospects nearby, she’d had to return home and ask her cousin for a job at his firm. He’d accepted her immediately and promoted her to full partner status. She’d accepted, but she’d needed to move back to her hometown in order to work, so she and Mordred had to pick up their lives and return to Camelot. Morgana had done everything in her power to avoid telling Mordred about her falling out with her family, but she supposed she’d have to fess up sooner or later. She planned on telling Mordred after his first week at school, so he could have some time to adjust. They’d been in their current home for about a month now, and seemed to be adjusting well, but Morgana still wanted to wait until she saw how Mordred handled his new school. She’d wanted to take longer, but her uncle demanded to see them soon, especially since her new job was at his old law firm, before his son, Morgana’s cousin, had taken over. She’d convinced him to wait, but he was impatient, so she only had the one week left. Glancing back at Mordred in the mirror, singing along to the radio cheerfully, she felt some anxiety building in her chest. Looking back at the road, she steadied herself and focused on her coping mechanisms that her therapist had told her about.

Soon, they were pulling into the school parking lot, and parking the car. Though Morgana had told Mordred they were going to be late, they were actually about 45 minutes early. They’d had to arrive early for Morgana to fill out paperwork, briefly meet Mordred’s teacher, and settle payment. Mordred was to be attending Camelot Preparatory School, the same school that Morgana had attended with her cousin after her parents had passed away, and her uncle had taken her in. She’d prefer if he went to Camelot Local School District, the public school that’s nearer by, but, even with her vendetta against the place and the memories here, even she couldn’t deny that their college preparation program was truly excellent, and she had to do what was best for her son’s future. Plus, having been an alumna, she got a really good discount, and with her pay bump from her promotion to partner, she could easily afford the school now, whereas before, it would’ve broken the bank.

A much older gentleman with shoulder-length white hair came down the stairs to greet Morgana and Mordred as they approached the entrance. “Ah, Miss Fay. Wonderful to see you again. And this must the young Mr Fay. Mordred, is it?” the man asked as he looked towards Mordred. He seemed kind and friendly, and Mordred nodded shyly in response. “Good. I am Mr Borden, the principal at this academy. It is lovely to meet you,” he introduced himself as he shook Mordred’s hand.

“Please, Mr Borden, call me Morgana. After all, you are my uncle’s closest friend; you’re practically family.”

“Well, alright, _Morgana_. But then you must call me Gaius. Come inside, let’s get the paperwork started, and I’ll direct you to Mordred’s class if you need direction, though I doubt you’ll need it, Morgana!” Gaius chuckled at his own joke, a twinkle in his eye as he winked at Mordred.

Morgana followed Gaius as Mordred trailed behind, holding on to his mother’s hand as he looked at the building in awe. It was an old, historic building, that had been maintained and restored as needed, while maintaining its older essence. The place was a castle, though on the smaller side for a castle. As Gaius led them towards his office, he spoke of the academic prowess of the university, and pointed out certain statues and paintings to explain their historic origin and prevalence. Soon, they arrived at his office, and Mordred plopped into one of the cozy chairs by the fireplace and began reading a book from his backpack as his mother took a seat in front of Gaius’s desk, as Gaius sat behind it and began fishing out papers and a pen from the drawers for Morgana to fill out.

As she signed the last page of the registration forms, Gaius took them from her and handed her the bill for the year’s tuition. As she began filling them out, he went over the registration forms. He stopped, adjusted his glasses for a moment, and squinted down at the page. Noticing, Morgana asked if there was a problem with the forms.

“No, I don’t believe so. It just says here that you’re 26, and that Mordred is 10. I thought there must be some mistake, since you’re so young, but the timeline matches up from when you attended… and when you, ah, left, our institution.” Gaius responded, concern in his eyes as he looked at Morgana.

Morgana nodded and sighed. She hated talking about it, but at least she knew with Gaius that he would keep the information to himself. The last thing she wanted to deal with was gossip about hers and her son’s ages. Plus, heavens forbid the information get to the students? That would be hell on Mordred, and he would already have a rough time, being the new kid. She made it a point to never tell him her age, so she wasn’t sure if he knew just how young she was for the mother of a 10 year old. She planned on telling him when she informed him of their family background.

“I wish I could have done more for you, Morgana. I wish you would’ve let me take you and the boy in. You could have finished your education here, free of charge, and I would have protected you from your uncle -” Gaius began.

“No, Gaius, really it’s fine. You know I couldn’t stay and face Uther and Arthur. It was too much. Honestly, I needed the time on my own. My aunt’s old landlady let me stay in the basement while I was in school and watched Mordred for me, and I worked at the library on the weekends and in the summer, which helped me become interested in law as a career. Life needed to work out that way, otherwise we wouldn’t be here now,” Morgana reassured him. She truly believed that. She had to believe that she didn’t suffer for nothing. Finishing the bill, she handed it to Gaius. He handed her a map of the school, which she gave to Mordred, as well as a copy of his schedule. He then wished them luck as they left the office, still wishing he had done more.


	2. Chapter 2

Morgana directed Mordred through the corridors, every now and then pointing out a landmark so that he could begin to find his way around. Morgana had seriously overestimated the amount of time it would take to fill out all of the forms in Gaius’s office, so they were still 30 minutes early for class starting, but Morgana didn’t mind. It would give her time to get to know (read: interrogate) Mordred’s new teacher, to make sure she was up to snuff. If she didn’t like this “Miss Mallory”, she would get Mordred transferred to another classroom immediately. And, since they were so early, it wouldn’t even take time away from class for Mordred!

Not that she was hoping to dislike Miss Mallory; Morgana was skeptical. She had been her whole life, and that skepticism worsened significantly when she went to live with her uncle. Either way, she was taking no chances with Mordred. She wanted him to have a happy life, where he could trust without worry. That’s why she didn’t want to tell Mordred about her past, and that’s why she was so furious, because she hadn’t planned on telling him until he was an adult. But that wasn’t really an option anymore if she wanted to keep food on the table and clothes on her son’s back.

As they arrived in room 127, they noticed another woman with her back to them, trying to unlock the door. Once she unlocked it, she turned to face the Fays. She had curly, bordering on frizzy, brown hair, and her skin was the color of hot chocolate, dotted with the most adorable freckles dotting her face, with a mole just to the right of her nose. Morgana felt as though she could stare into her gorgeous chocolate eyes for eternity, when the woman spoke to Mordred.

“You must be the new student, Mordred! I’m Miss Mallory, and I’ll be your teacher this year! So excited to meet you! Why don’t you go inside? Your desk and locker have your name on it, so why don’t you find them? There’s books on the shelf, and Legos and Playdough to play with or read until class starts. Just make sure you’re engaging your mind!” Miss Mallory said cheerfully. Morgana thought she seemed kind. As Mordred went inside to drop off his bags and begin “engaging his mind”, Miss Mallory invited Morgana into the classroom. It was decorated like most classrooms, with the traditional posters discouraging cheating and encouraging responsibility and creativity. Taking a seat at her desk, Miss Mallory gestured to the chair across from her for Morgana.

“Miss Fay,” she began, before being interrupted.

“Please, call me Morgana.”

“Such a beautiful name. I’m Gwen, short for Guinevere, but that bit isn’t really relevant right now. Personally, I need to get set up for class, but I have about 5 minutes to talk right now, which I figure we can use to find a time to meet outside of the school so you can get to know me so you know I’ll be a good teacher for your son. And don’t worry about your son missing curriculum if you decide to switch teachers, since all the 5th grade teachers make sure that we all teach the same exact material for the first week before we cater to the needs of our individual students. Not that I think you’ll change classes, but I just wanted to let you know since we get a lot of concerned parents and since you’re a single mom, sorry, Gaius told me that you were single, that’s why I called you Miss, but anyway I understand any concerns or worries you may have and I just wanted to let you know all of the information and all of your options, so you can optimize Mordred’s opportunities here. Sorry for the rambling, I’m always a bit frazzled on the first day. Whew!”

Morgana was feeling more than a little overwhelmed. Not only because of the sheer amount of information that she had just been bombarded with, but also due to the kindness and concern from Gwen. She hadn’t been expecting someone who had true, genuine kindness to spill out from them like Gwen did; in fact, she hadn’t thought that anyone like that had even existed to begin with. She was touched that she’d cared enough to give her options, since she’d seldom had options in her life. And the fact that she seemed to care about her in addition to her son was so important.

Shaking off the feeling, Morgana expressed her understanding at the “frazzled rambling”, and she and Gwen made plans to meet for dinner on Thursday (it was currently Monday) at a local diner that Morgana had been fond of when she was younger, and that Gwen was a regular at. Morgana didn’t want to take up more of Gwen’s time, and more students were coming in, so she said goodbye, offering her hand for a handshake. Gwen took it, and in that moment, Morgana felt a kind shock. It wasn’t electric, but it was like a wave of warmth sweeping through her, originating at the base of her palm where Gwen’s fingers lightly tapped her skin. She felt… disappointed? when Gwen’s hand pulled away, pushing Morgana out of her reverie and back to reality. Smiling shyly, she turned around and walked over to where Mordred was reading at his desk.

“Hey sweetheart, I’ve got to go now.” Mordred looked up at his mother, placing a bookmark in his book and closing it as he stood to hug Morgana goodbye. Wrapping her arms around him, she gave him a kiss on the head. “Try to socialize and make friends. This is a fresh start, you’ve got this baby,” she said as Mordred pulled out of the hug and looked at her. She smiled encouragingly and, rather than a goodbye, offered a different sentence: “I love you, have a great day, and…?”

“Learn a lot!” Mordred finished excitedly. It was the sentence Morgana had said to Mordred every morning before preschool, and they kept up the tradition throughout elementary school. It was their tradition, their secret, something only they knew and did, and it made Mordred feel like his mother was with him at school when he repeated those words to himself. Mordred had always been a bit of a solitary child, preferring to read on his own than to play with a group. He’d had a few friends at his other school, but not many, and none that he was heartbroken over having to leave. More acquaintances than friends, really. This worried Morgana, and she knew she couldn’t baby him, but she liked their little tradition. It reminded her of when he was little, and she enjoyed the nostalgic memories of pizza in their little basement apartment while she studied for law school and he colored. It made them both feel more at ease, more at home, and Morgana especially wanted Mordred to feel that now, since he was in a strange and new environment. A slice of home would serve as a comfort and a reminder of Morgana’s love and faith in him.

Breaking away, Morgana touched his cheek gently, and said “I love you” one more time before blowing a kiss and leaving the classroom, waving at Gwen on her way out.

Waving back at Morgana, Gwen discreetly touched her fingertips on her right hand to her cheek, remembering the strange warmth she had felt from shaking Morgana’s hand just a few moments before.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I have decided to include Morgause. Still hate her, and she won’t be related to Morgana or Arthur or any of the characters, but she will be making an appearance in a later chapter, so look out. Also, to explain last names, I took everyone but Gaius’s last name from Arthurian legend (found on the wikipedia page). Morgana is Morgan le Fay in the original legend, and Gwen’s father’s name is Thomas Mallory in the original tale. Gaius’s name I took from is former apprentice, whose last name was Borden. Any other characters I use, I found on the Merlin wiki fandom site.

Morgana left Camelot Prep full of conflicted feelings. She was anxious for Mordred’s first day at a new school, plus she was buzzing with nervous energy for her new job. On the other hand, she was excited to see her cousin again, whom she hadn’t seen since Christmas, and whom she loved like a brother. Additionally, she was still filled with warmth from meeting Gwen. But she was also confused about that warmth. She shook it off, and resolved to focus on one thing at a time. For now, that thing was driving to _Royal Camelot Law Firm_ . Though she was nervous, Morgana knew she was good at her job. And she wasn’t being arrogant either; she’d gotten her BA degree in 2 years thanks to all of her college credits from Camelot Prep and Albion Public, where she’d attended after she left Camelot. From there, law school only took another 2 years, and she passed her boards when she was 22. Since she was so young, she’d had to work even harder to gain recognition, since most people thought that her age made her immature and inexperienced. But she’d proved them wrong, and risen through that firm. She would’ve been made partner if the 2 original partners hadn’t had a falling out, resulting in the firm going under. But Morgana knew she’d be fine. _You’ve done the work, and now this is the payoff. You have security, and you’re making much more than before. This is for Mordred’s future_ , she thought to herself. She would’ve preferred to wait and find another job on her own, rather than asking her cousin, but she needed to look out for her son’s best interests.

Arriving at the gate, she gave her name, and the guard gave her a parking pass and a temporary ID card on a lanyard. She hung the lanyard around her neck, pushing her long, wavy black locks so that the back of the lanyard lay below them, resting on the back of her neck. She then followed the guard, a tan man named Lancelot. He held the door for her, and then gave her directions to the main offices. Not that Morgana needed it; she’d had building memorized for as long as she could remember. Her father and uncle had been the original partners at the firm, extending to Morgana’s mother when she joined later.

Morgana had a lot more money than she let on, due to her parents leaving her shares in the firm, which had gone through a period of aggressive growth. However, she couldn’t have access to them unless she worked at the firm in some capacity, and only when she reached 21. It was a rather annoying stipulation in her parents’ wills. She had received ownership of the shares when she accepted the job offer, and she cashed them (since the company was already huge, it had flatlined in terms of growth) and placed 3/4 of that money into a special account for Mordred’s college. Half of the remaining money from the shares went towards buying their current home and furnishing it, in addition to paying off the last Morgana’s student debt that hadn’t been covered by her college fund, and the other half went into an account to be used for bills and other expenses.

Finally, Morgana arrived at the door to the partner offices. There was a common area, which had 4 doors attached that went to each of the four offices; 1 for each of her parents, and one for her aunt and uncle, originally. Currently, her mother and aunt’s offices were occupied by her cousin and his boyfriend. Her uncle still had is own office, though he was partially retired and no longer took on cases, only working on company expenses and such, most of which he did from his home, according to Morgana’s cousin. Morgana would be in her father’s office. Taking a deep breath to steady and ground herself, Morgana pushed open the door. She wasn’t expecting the sight before her in the common area, but she also wasn’t really surprised. Arthur and his boyfriend, Merlin, were arguing. Of course. What they were fighting about, Morgana had no idea, but she heard Merlin say something that sounded like “clotpole”. She shook her head, chuckling. Some things never changed, she supposed.

Merlin was the first to notice Morgana, his face breaking into a smile as he rushed forward and hugged her, placing a kiss to her cheek. “It’s great to see you again, Morgana! It’s been almost a year!” he exclaimed as he pulled back from the hug, his eyes taking her in. “You look well, how was Mordred this morning?”

“It was not a year, we saw you at Christmas, and it’s only August. And Mordred did wonderfully this morning, thank you.”

Arthur approached, enveloping Morgana in a long hug, kissing her on the forehead. “There’s my favorite cousin! Excited for your first day?”

“Yes, I am, thank you again so much for this. Also, I’m your only cousin, so ‘favorite’ as a title isn’t much of a challenge to obtain,” Morgana teased.

“We have news for you, by the way…” Merlin started, before Arthur interrupted him.

“We’re engaged! Honestly, _Mer_ lin, you always make it sound so ominous when you tell people. Makes it sound like one of us is dying, honestly!” Arthur huffed, but with a smile growing on his face.

“Oh my goodness, congratulations!” Morgana exclaimed, pulling them both in for a group hug. Stepping back, she asked to see the rings. Merlin wore a black obsidian band, with spirals of silver through it, and Arthur wore a plain gold band. Both suited their wearers well. “Who proposed to who? I require more details!”

“We were going to cut work short by an hour, and head to the Lucky Tavern and tell you the story then,” Arthur explained.

“I have to get Mordred from school. Childcare ends at 5:30.”

“That’s why we’re going to end the workday at 4, and we won’t make you drink. And the tavern is 10 minutes away, and it’s on your way to Camelot Prep. We planned for everything. Well, I did,” Merlin teased, lightly elbowing Arthurs arm. Arthur made a noise of protest, but then he wrapped his arm around Merlin’s shoulder and kissed him.

“Hey, no PDA in the office, for goodness sake!” Morgana protested. “The boys”, as she often referred to them, laughed as she made her way to her office. They followed her in, and Arthur explained that the files on the left side of her desk were the cases she’d been assigned, and the folder on the right side contained her official registration and contract, her official badge with her name, partner status, and her picture (Arthur had threatened to put an embarrassing childhood photo on her ID before she told him that two could play at that game). The folder also contained the firm credit card, as well as the booklet on company policy. Sitting in front of her were a few framed photos, which Arthur and Merlin had set up as a gift. One was a picture of the three of them when they started at Camelot Prep when they were 5, already the best of friends. Another was a picture of Morgana with her parents, when she was 8, the year before they died. It was the most recent picture of the three of them before they died. Lastly, there was a picture of Morgana and Mordred in their pajamas from last Christmas, which Merlin had taken when they weren’t looking. Normally, Morgana hated having her picture taken, especially without advance warning. However, this picture looked great, and she was glad to have it. She thanked them, hugging them both again before setting down to work. She had a lot of work to do if the day was going to end early.

***

As the clock reached 3:30, Arthur and Merlin reentered Morgana’s office to escort her down to their cars. They gave her directions to the tavern, and they all took off. It had been a long time since Morgana had gone to any “hangouts”, usually preferring to work and then get home to her son. She hadn’t had any friends at her last job. She’d been a little lonely, but she felt it was important to focus on Mordred. However, these were her best friends since childhood. Her cousin was practically a brother to her, and Merlin’s father had worked at the Royal Camelot Law Firm, so they’d known him since they were all old enough to form memories.

Walking into the Lucky Tavern, the first things she saw were the twin banners over a few tables in the back, where Lancelot, Merlin, and Arthur, along with three other women, were all waiting. One banner said “WELCOME HOME MORGANA”, and the other said “CONGRATULATIONS CLOTPOLES”. At the former, Morgana’s heart clenched. She hadn’t considered Camelot home for a very long time, but she wanted it to be again. At the latter, Morgana began giggling as she made her way over to the table, dodging balloons as she took a seat. The three men cheered, and the two ladies smiled fondly at them before turning to Morgana. They introduced themselves as Freya, Elena, and Sefa. Sefa and Freya were paralegals, and Elena was a lawyer. As Morgana got to know them, she learned that Freya was Merlin’s cousin, and that Elena and Sefa were married. Morgana was glad to know that she, Arthur, and Merlin weren’t the only gay people at the firm. Coming out had always been a hard subject for Morgana, since she’d never had the chance to tell her own parents and didn’t know for sure how they would’ve reacted. Knowing she wouldn’t be judged at the office was important to her. Plus, even though she was currently the only woman partner at the firm, she wasn’t the only woman there, so that would be nice. Unlike at her last job, Morgana wanted to make friends this time. And these women seemed like lovely people to be friends with.

Morgana looked down at her watch, and began to panic. She was 20 minutes late to pick up Mordred! She scrambled for money for her soda (as she hadn’t drank at all) before Arthur told her that he’d cover it, and she ran out. She got to Mordred’s school about 15 minutes later in a panic.

 _He’s not outside, oh my god someone could have taken him,_ Morgana’s panicked mind raced. _He’s so small and - no, no, he’s a smart kid. He’d know not to go off with a stranger. And the school has excellent security. Let’s just go inside, he’s probably there._ Morgana took a breath to steady herself as she reached the top of the stairs and entered the building.

“Mom!” Mordred ran towards her, pulling her into a tight hug. Morgana hugged him back fiercely, giving the top of his head a long, worried kiss. As he pulled back and looked up at her, she put her hands on his cheeks and he smiled. “Miss Mallory stayed with me! She’s so nice!”

Morgana looked up at Gwen. “It was nothing, really, he was just waiting by himself and I got worried, so I sat and chatted with him. I actually lost track of time, too. And I didn’t have any plans, so it’s all fine,” Gwen reassured her.

“Thank you so so much, I’m so sorry, I was catching up with my coworkers after work and I just completely lost track of time.” Morgana turned to Mordred. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

“It’s okay mom. I’m just ready for dinner!”

Morgana laughed. “And I want to hear all about your day!” she replied enthusiastically.

“Mom, can we invite Miss Mallory for dinner? She said she didn’t have any plans and I don’t want to leave her by herself. Plus, she’s really nice!” Mordred looked up at his mother with pleading eyes.

“Really, that’s alright, I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Gwen started.

“Please, it’s the least I can do. It’ll be very casual. We’ll have pizza and chinese food, and we can watch a movie. It’ll be fun, and I’ll even break out the good wine.” Morgana was insistent, and in her mind, she praised her son for his manners (she also blushed slightly at the prospect of a night getting to know Gwen).

Morgana could see Gwen’s resolve breaking at Mordred’s bright blue pleading puppy-dog eyes (a look that he had perfected at age 4). “Oh, that sounds so amazing. If you really don’t mind, I’d love to!” Gwen responded.

So they made a plan to meet at Morgana’s home in an hour. Morgana would order the pizza and chinese food, and she and Mordred would change into more comfortable, casual clothes (for Mordred, this meant pajamas). Gwen would go home, change, and meet them there. This gave Morgana extra time to straighten up the house, since it was a bit of the mess due to the move-in just a month before.

They went their separate ways to their respective cars. As Mordred and Morgana walked away, Gwen couldn’t stop thinking about Morgana’s gorgeous smile, and she desperately hoped to see it much more tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

“Mordred, sweetheart, can you please set the table? Gwen - I mean, Miss Mallory - will be here any minute!”

“I thought you said this was casual,” Mordred grumbled. Morgana was in a little bit of a panic. This was Mordred’s teacher, and she desperately wanted to make a good impression. Plus, it didn’t help her frazzled nerves that Gwen was sweet and kind and _gorgeous_. She’d isolated herself after Mordred was born, and hadn’t dated since high school. Not that she intended to date Gwen. She couldn’t date Mordred’s teacher. But at the very least she’d like to be friends. Gwen seemed like she’d be an excellent friend, and, even with the short interactions Morgana had had with the woman, she couldn’t stand having her in her life and not being close with her; she didn’t seem like the kind of person you just stay acquaintances with. Maybe it was selfish, to horn in on Mordred’s teacher like that, but Morgana was starved for friendship. She could use someone like Gwen in her life. And if she was good for Mordred, all the better, right?

“We still need to make a good impression. After all, she is your teacher, and it’s only been one day since you started. And it is casual; you’re in your PJs, aren’t you?” Morgana quipped back.

The doorbell rang, and Morgana called out “I’ll get it!” as Mordred groaned and went about setting the table. Morgana stopped herself before a mirror and composed herself and checked her appearance before she made her way to the front door. She smoothed her hair, her long raven curls being pulled back into a low ponytail, the end of which swept over her right shoulder. She wore a comfortable plain green cotton t-shirt under a black cardigan, and a pair of comfortable black jeans (not denim jeans, more of the cotton stretchy faux-jeans, but not jeggings either, as jeggings were for weekends when she had to run errands but still wanted to be comfortable). The green of her shirt made her eyes look like emeralds shining in moonlight. With a satisfactory nod, she strode confidently towards the door. Her confidence left her body with her breath as she opened the door.

Gwen stood there, chocolate curls falling loose around her shoulders, gently tousled by the wind. Morgana scanned her, taking in every detail. She wore brown boots over light purple socks, which peaked out over the tops of the boots, as she wore them over the bottoms of her light blue (actually denim) jeans. She wore a white (button up, Morgana presumed) collared shirt underneath a cream cable-knit sweater, and resting over her chest was a light purple crystal on a silver chain, which matched the shade of her earrings, which were in the shape of flowers. She smiled warmly, though slightly awkward, a smile that shook Morgana out of her trance. She blushed slightly, and opened the door to welcome Gwen into her home.

As Morgana looked anywhere but at Gwen as she took her boots off inside the foyer, Gwen repaid Morgana for checking her out by returning the favor. Everything about Morgana looked put together, save for her wavy hair, black as night, which tumbled and flowed like a waterfall. Gwen had a sudden urge to comb her fingers through her hair. She mentally slapped herself, thinking _This is the mother of a student. She is off limits_.

Gwen scanned the little landing. Morgana lived in a modest bi-level home, so the “foyer” was actually a small landing between a staircase that led to the main part of the house and a slightly smaller set of stairs that led down into the basement and garage area. The carpet of the stairs and the main area, Gwen noticed as they made their way to the top of the stairs, was beige and well-worn, as Morgana hadn’t had time to replace the carpet yet (not that she wanted to; the wear of the carpet reminded her of her old apartment, and it made the new house feel more like a home). The walls of the entrance and the living room next to it were a soft light blue. The kitchen was immediately at the top of the stairs, combined with a dining area that connected to the living area to Gwen’s right. To the left was a hallway, painted a soft red, with one door on the right wall of the hall, and 3 doors at the end. Morgana explained that the door on the right wall of the hallway was the main bathroom, though there was another one in the basement.

She led Gwen to the end of the hallway to the three rooms there. She opened the door on the left to reveal an office. Or, at least, what would be an office after all of the boxes were unpacked and moved. Morgana explained that was her weekend project. She gestured to the door to the right of the office, the one in the middle of the three doors. She explained that it was Mordred’s room. Tacked to the door were pictures of Morgana and Mordred throughout the years, laughing and smiling. There were some paintings signed “Mordred” in messy handwriting from when he was a toddler. Gwen smiled at these. She could see how close Mordred and Morgana were, and it made her smile. Many of the children at Camelot Prep had strained relationships with their parents, instead being raised by nannies and the like. Morgana was the only genuine parent she knew. Her heart swelled slightly, and she felt a surge of warmth spread through her chest, directed towards the other woman.

Finally, Morgana moved on to the last door. Tacked to this door was a picture of a much younger Morgana holding Mordred as a newborn. There were two other photos. One was of a very young Morgana standing between two older people, all of them grinning at the camera as the man ruffled Morgana’s hair and the mother smiled with fake exasperation. The other was a picture of Morgana, just a couple years older, between two boys of the same age: one with golden hair and blue eyes, and the other with black hair and blue eyes. They all had their arms wrapped around each other, and Morgana’s head was thrown back in a laugh, while the blond boy smirked and the dark-haired boy grinned somewhat dorkily.

“This is my room,” Morgana began to explain. “This one,” she indicated the photo of her with the older couple, “is me and my parents before they passed away. I was six in this picture. They died when I was nine.”

“Morgana, I’m so sorry -” Gwen began.

“Please, it’s alright. It was a long time ago.” Gwen nodded, gesturing for Morgana to continue. “This other picture is me with my cousin,” she pointed at the blond boy, “and his best friend. The two of them actually just got engaged!”

“Good for them, congratulations to them!”

The women stood in awkward silence for a moment. Trying to break the tension, Gwen blurted out, “Can I see your room?”

Startled, Morgana looked at Gwen with surprise. Gwen quickly assured her that she didn’t have to let her in, that she was just trying to continue the conversation. _What the hell, why not,_ Morgana thought to herself before opening the door to her bedroom.

The room was about twice the size of the little office, though that wasn’t saying much. There was a queen sized bed against the wall opposite from the door, with the headboard against the far left wall, and the foot facing the wall immediately to the right of the door. There was a long dresser wedged between the foot of the bed and the wall to the right. On the left of the bed was a nightstand, and to the left of that was a bookshelf filled with colorful novels. On the wall immediately to the left of the door was a closet, and then another dresser with a small TV resting on top of it. Morgana’s bed, which was perpendicular to the TV, had many pillows that were arranged so that Morgana could lean against the wall while sitting on her bed to form a makeshift couch while she watched the television. The room was a soft blue, slightly darker than the entryway to the house Gwen turned, noticing a full-length mirror against the wall next to where the opened door rested against it, and to the left of that mirror was modest bulletin board. Half of the board was taken up by colorful notes about work, school, errands, etc.. On the other half of the board were about a dozen pictures of Mordred. Mordred smiling after losing his front tooth, the gap in his teeth prominent in his grin. Mordred asleep in a laundry basket in front of the TV as a toddler, nestled among a nest of pillows and blankets in the basket. Mordred hanging an ornament on the Christmas tree. Mordred in his pajamas poking his upper body outside of a massive blanket fort in the living room. So many memories. Again, Gwen felt a warmth in her chest directed at the other woman, who stood in the doorway, watching Gwen analyze her room in wonder.

An image flashed in Morgana’s head of her sitting between Gwen and Mordred on her bed, illuminated by the light of the TV as Mordred’s head lay in her lap, asleep, and Gwen’s head resting on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck. Next thing she knew, she was back in reality, as Mordred came up behind her and told her the table was set, before he greeted Gwen. As she watched her son interact with his teacher in her bedroom, Morgana felt a kind of ache, some sort of longing she’d never felt before, enter her chest, almost pulling her towards them. But she merely sighed before smiling and leading the other two to the dining area for dinner.

As the three ate dinner, Morgana told stories of Mordred’s childhood, with Mordred chiming in to add to the story at different intervals. Gwen reciprocated by telling stories of her own youth. Gwen had grown up with a single dad, Tom, and an older brother, Elyon, who often got into mischief. She told the stories of her brother’s misadventures with love, while cautioning Mordred not to try out Elyon’s deeds for himself. They laughed as they ate, taking longer to eat than normal. Morgana told Mordred to pick a shorter movie, since dinner had taken longer, while she and Gwen convened in the kitchen to serve up some ice cream. Mordred chose cookies and cream, his favorite, while Morgana had mint chocolate chip. Gwen chose the orange sherbert that was in the giant tub in the freezer, which Morgana always kept in stock, as it was kind of her guilty pleasure food. Mordred picked out _The Incredibles_ , and he sat in the large reclining chair, as Gwen and Morgana seated themselves on the long couch. They laughed through the movie, Morgana and Gwen chatting quietly while Mordred focused on the film. After the movie was over, Morgana sent Mordred off to bed, while she and Gwen had some tea at the dining table.

“So, uh, not to pry or anything, but I’ve noticed you don’t have any pictures of Mordred’s father around? I know you’re single, Gaius told me you were a single parent, but I guess I was just curious about the situation? You don’t have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable though, I totally understand,” Gwen rambled nervously. She didn’t want to hurt or offend Morgana, but her curiosity got the better of her.

“It’s kind of a long story…” Morgana started. Gwen leaned slightly forward, interested. Morgana sighed and continued. “Well, after my parents died, my uncle, Uther, raised me. I grew up with my cousin, Arthur, and we were best friends with another boy from down the road, named Merlin. They’re the two other kids in that picture on my door,” Morgana explained. “We all went to Camelot Prep together, so we grew up and were really close. Around the time I was 15, I started to think I might be gay. I wanted to tell Arthur and Merlin, but my Uncle Uther was really homophobic, and Arthur was always trying to impress Uther, and while I trusted Arthur, I didn’t want him to have to keep this secret from his dad. But I had to tell someone, so I only told Merlin. He then confided in me that he thought he might be gay. It was kinda funny, if we hadn’t been so worried about others finding out. Neither of us was sure that we were gay, though, so neither of us came out. When we were 16, I had an idea to be sure. I told Merlin that we should have sex. We were both 16, so we thought we were mature enough. If we didn’t like it, we were gay. If we did, we were straight or bi. We thought it was a good way to figure things out without telling our families. Honestly, I don’t know why Merlin didn’t tell his family. I guess his dad is kinda old-fashioned, but that’s besides the point.”

“So, halfway through our junior year, we slept together. We both realized we were definitely gay. Neither of us knew at the time, but the condom broke, and I got pregnant with Mordred. Merlin felt terrible. He offered to marry me, get a job, support the baby. I was the one who said no. When I had told Uther that I was pregnant, he ordered me to get an abortion. Then I told him I was gay, and he ordered me to get out of his house. I was determined to get far away and make my own life for myself, and I couldn’t do that by becoming Mrs Morgana Emrys, so I took some personal savings from my summer job and I ran away. I had and kept Mordred, worked my ass off through senior year and my bachelor’s, and got through law school and started working at the firm nearby. When it went under, I had no choice but to come back here. My cousin, who now runs the law firm that my parents and his parents started together, offered me partner status, and I couldn’t turn that down, despite my pride.”

“So here we are, My cousin is engaged to our best friend, who happens to be the father of my son, and we all work together at the law firm which my dead parents built with the homophobic uncle that kicked me out after trying to order me to abort Mordred before he was born.”

“Holy shit,” Gwen exclaimed. “And I thought I had a weird life!”

Morgana chuckled. “Yeah, and if that’s not enough, I have to take Mordred to meet Uther on Sunday. I haven’t even told Mordred about all of our family issues yet, though I’m never going to tell him about how Uther ordered me to get an abortion, never. I’ve kept him far away from Uther. Even Arthur and Merlin only visit on Christmas, though Merlin also visits for Mordred’s birthday. Mordred is my everything, and I wanted to protect him from my family’s craziness.”

“Does Mordred know that you’re gay? I’m just wondering,” Gwen inquired.

“Oh, yeah. Covered that very early on. When he was three, he asked why Merlin and I weren’t married, and I told him that I was gay. Then he got excited and said ‘So I’ll be the only boy you ever love! Awesome!’ It was so cute and sweet,” Morgana laughed as she remembered.

Gwen laughed too. “Wow, that’s so cute! You’ve raised an excellent child.” She paused before sighing. “You are so strong, Morgana. To go through what you’ve gone through, and then to build a new life with your son, it’s amazing, and kind of inspiring,” Gwen said wistfully.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Morgana asked, worry prominent in her tone.

“I never had the courage to come out to my dad. My brother knows, and my mother knew before she passed away, but I’ve been terrified to tell my father because he’s so traditional. So here I am, a coward, sitting in front of you, who was brave in the face of so much more than just coming out.” Gwen’s expression hardened into one of determination. “You know what, I’m going to tell my dad. I’ll do it over the weekend. You’ve inspired me, Morgana, thank you,” she said decisively.

“Uh, you’re welcome? Not sure what I did, but I’m glad you’re coming out. If you don’t mind, can I ask your sexuality? Morgana said, unsure.

“Oh, yeah, totally! I’m a lesbian, what about you?”

“Same! Oh it’s so nice! My only gay friends are Arthur and Merlin and they’ve always been annoying little shits!”

Gwen snorted out a laugh, which Morgana thought was positively adorable. “Well, I promise to try not to be an ‘annoying little shit’. At least I won’t be insufferable since I’m not in a couple.”

“You’re single?! How?!” Morgana exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’ve been chronically single for a while. You’ve seen the PTA moms, right? Everyone I meet through work is a snooty bitch, and usually vehemently heterosexual.”

“Uh, excuse you, rude, now I’m offended. How dare you call me a heterosexual,” Morgana quipped with a teasing grin.

Gwen took a moment, and then realized what she’d said, before laughing. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” She protested lightly.

After a few more laughs and jokes, Gwen realized it was late, and she needed to get home, since she had to be up early for work the next day. Lamenting, Morgana said that she too had to wake early. Morgana regretfully walked Gwen down the stairs to the entry where Gwen had left her shoes. Just before she walked out the door, Gwen pulled Morgana into a close hug, as she wrapped her arms around the middle of the taller woman. Morgana, slightly shocked, took a moment before she returned the embrace, pulling her arms tight around Gwen’s shoulders.

As they pulled back from the hug and said their goodbyes (both thinking optimistically about the plans they had made that morning for dinner on Thursday), they mourned the loss of contact with each other, feeling cold and alone as they went their separate ways. _For now,_ they each thought.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the week went by very quickly for Morgana. She and Mordred began to develop a routine. They got up at the same time, 7, Mordred showering downstairs while Morgana showered in the main bathroom. Morgana would get dressed while Mordred made toast with grape jelly, and then they both sat down for breakfast (Cheerios™ with sugar and sliced bananas). They would eat, chatting lightly while Morgana read the newspaper and Mordred read the Funnies from that morning’s paper. Then Mordred would grab his schoolbag, and with a hug and a kiss to and from his mother, he would dash out the door as the bus was pulling up (they lived on a corner that happened to also be the bus stop for the neighborhood). Morgana would then clean up the breakfast dishes, rinsing them and adding them to the dishwasher after she cleared and wiped down the table with a wet washcloth. Then, she would grab her work bag (an old, beat up laptop bag that had once belonged to her father, where she kept her laptop and the files she brought home to work on), and would exit the house, locking the door behind her, before driving off to work. 

At work, she would greet Lancelot at the door before heading up to the offices, where she would hug Merlin and Arthur and give each of them a kiss on the cheek. She would go into her office and work until lunch at 1, and then she, Merlin, and Arthur would walk across the street to the plaza, where they would eat together. Afterwards, she would continue working on her cases until 5pm. She hadn’t had to go to court yet, due to all of her cases being new. Her first court date would be in a couple weeks. They had an hour-long meeting on Wednesdays from 4-5 for the upper level staffers to give a report on their progress and cases, and ask for advice or questions if they had any. This was held in the conference room across the hall from the partner offices. They only had general staff meetings once a month or as needed, so Morgana hadn’t been to one yet.

When Morgana got home each night, Mordred would finish his break (he didn’t have to start on his homework until Morgana got home, allowing him a detox from his schoolwork to relax his mind and have some fun, get a snack, etc.), hug and kiss his mother, and then sit down at the table to work on his homework. Morgana would drop off her work bag in her office, put her computer and phone on their respective chargers, grab her apron (an old and faded navy and emerald plaid apron that had once belonged to her mother), and go to the kitchen to work on making dinner. While she made dinner, Mordred would work on his homework, so if he had any questions, his mother was only a few feet away, and she could help him. After Mordred finished his homework, he would put on his apron (just a little navy one; he’d demanded to have an apron like his mother’s when he was little, so she bought him a navy one, the closest in design that she could find. Since then it had been a tradition, and she bought Mordred a new one every time he outgrew his) and help his mother in the kitchen. Once dinner was finished cooking, Mordred would set the table while his mother served the food. They would then place their aprons back on their respective hooks next to the kitchen doorway, and then wash up and sit down for dinner. After they ate, Morgana would rinse and scrub the dishes and pass them to Mordred, who would place them in their designated place in the dishwasher.

After dinner, they would have a small bowl of ice cream each, and then would play some kind of game. Often, this meant Uno or chess, but sometimes it would be some kind of video game that they could play together. Morgana’s old landlady had had an old Super Nintendo, which was the same model that she would play at Merlin’s when she was young. She’d played it often when she was done with school when she was pregnant with Mordred and when he was a baby. She’d taught him how to count using the game Punch Out, and that was still a favorite of theirs to this day. When Morgana and Mordred had moved back to Camelot, their landlady insisted that they take the Nintendo with them, since she’d had no use for it since her son had moved out a couple years before Morgana became her tenant. 

After about an hour or two of games, it would be 8 or 9 o’clock, and Mordred would brush his teeth and go to bed. Morgana would then sit down in her office and work on her cases until 10, then read a book from her shelf of favorites in the living room until 11. At 11, she would retire to her bed and drift off to sleep, before starting the cycle again.

This routine seemed so ingrained in Morgana’s mind, she could almost imagine that she had been doing it for three years rather than just three days. When Thursday rolled around, she woke up half an hour early and laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. She was shocked at the passing of time. Tonight, she had dinner with Gwen to discuss Mordred’s progress in school (and Morgana hoped to become closer to Gwen as well and get to know her better as a friend). Then, on Friday, she would take Mordred out to dinner and to see the new  _ Spiderman _ movie in the theater. After, when they got home, was when she planned to tell Mordred about her uncle and the dinner they had to attend on Sunday with him.

That reminded her,  _ How is my homophobic shithead of an uncle handling his son’s engagement to another man? _ she thought.  _ I’ll have to check in with Arthur today. I know better than anyone about Uther’s cruelty in these matters, _ she resolved.

Her alarm chimed, and she stretched and got out of bed. She laid out her work clothes for the day; a navy button-up shirt with a pair of soft gray dress pants and a matching blazer, with black patches on the elbows and black buttons. It was her favorite work outfit, and she’d been saving it for today because she was excited for her date -  _ No, it’s not a date, _ she reminded herself - with Gwen. She wanted to feel nice and look nice all day, in order to get her into a good attitude when she met with Gwen for dinner. Not that she thought she could ever be in a bad mood around Gwen. They’d exchanged numbers on Monday night when she’d come over for dinner, and had texted back and forth a little, mostly memes or the small things in their day that reminded the other of them. For instance, Morgana sent her a meme about siblings that was meant to tease Gwen about Elyon (the caption read, “is this how you and Elyon are?”), and Gwen sent back a laughing emoji and a winking kissy face emoji with the message “maybe…”. Morgana laughed and blushed at this. Sometimes Gwen would send a picture of Mordred playing with other students (he’d made friends named Percival and Freya) and socializing, as she knew that Mordred was a quiet boy and had overheard Morgana reminding him to socialize on the first day. Morgana’s heart soared, partially because she had been a little concerned about Mordred making friends, and partially because Gwen understood her so well, even without explicitly communicating this. Even though they had only hung out that one time, they had formed a quick and very solid connection, which Morgana hoped was the foundation for a good friendship.  _ Or maybe even something more… _ she thought before she could stop herself. She shook her head as if she was trying to displace the thought, before she changed from her pajamas to her robe and got in the shower, singing some pop song as the warm water wet her hair as she washed her body. She’d decided to use her good body wash, shampoo, and conditioner that she only saved for special occasions. It had a very strong scent of vanilla and wildberries that Morgana adored, and it made her sigh every time she smelled it. 

Stepping out of the shower and toweling off her body, she put on her robe and used her towel to dry off her hair. Hair only a little bit damp now, she went back to her room and changed into her clothes that she had laid out, and went to the kitchen. Mordred was sitting at the table with the jelly, spreading it on the two slices of toast he had made. Morgana got out the bowls and poured the cereal and then the milk (the order is very important) into them, before grabbing two bananas off the counter and slicing one into her bowl, and the other into Mordred’s.

They sat and ate quietly. Morgana’s foot was bouncing excitedly, as though she couldn’t physically contain her energy. Mordred glanced over the morning comics at his mother, brow furrowed in concern.

“Mom, are you alright? You’re acting weird this morning. You’re shaking the table and you’re not even reading the paper.” Worry crept into his voice.

“Oh, honey, I’m perfectly fine, nothing to be concerned about. I’m just excited for the day, that’s all,” she reassured him.

“Okay, well no coffee for you this morning. Tell Uncle Arthur I said so.”

Morgana laughed. “Alright dear, I’ll let him know. By the way, your father is going to be coming by tonight. I have a late meeting at 7, so he’s going to come over at 6:45 to hang out with you here while I’m out,” she informed him, smiling at his excitement to see his dad.

“Wait, not that I’m not pumped to see Dad, but why is your meeting so late?”

“Well, it’s more of a social outing really. Miss Mallory and I are going to dinner. We’re going to discuss your school progress, and then we’ll probably hang out.”

“How come?”

Morgana sighed. “I know she’s your teacher, but I’d like to be friends with her. She’s really nice, and I know you like her, but if it makes you uncomfortable, all you have to do is say so, and we won’t be friends. No problem, no worries at all. You and your comfort are more important -”

“Whoa, Mom, relax. I think it’s great you’re friends. I like Miss Mallory, I think she’s really nice too. And you deserve to have a good friend who isn’t Dad or Uncle Arthur.”

Morgana looked at her son with pride at his maturity, and chuckled at his last comment. “Oh, by the way, Uncle Arthur is going to join you and Dad tonight, they have some news for you.”

“You mean they’re finally getting married? It’s about time,” Mordred said casually.

Morgana was completely shocked. “How do you know?”

“Please, Mom, it would take being blind not to see that they’ve been in love forever, and I’m definitely not blind. Plus, Uncle Arthur is already family. I think it’s great, and I’m really happy for them.”

Morgana shook her head in disbelief. “You are quite the observer, aren’t you?”

Mordred nodded enthusiastically in response. “Well, you need to get better at observing the time, young man; your bus is almost here,” she teased. Mordred jumped up, dashing to the spot at the top of the stairs where he kept his bag and school shoes, putting them both on quickly before he ran back to where his mother sat at the table, giving her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before sprinting out the door to the bus.

Morgana just laughed at the whole sight, before cleaning up the dishes and getting ready for work. It was going to be a fantastic day.

 

***

 

Morgana stood in her light gray bathrobe, staring intensely and impatiently at her closet. She had confirmed with Gwen right after work that they were going to a diner that Gwen knew the owners of, so she didn’t want to dress too nicely. But on the other hand, she wanted to look really nice. She was stuck between a royal blue dress that came just past her knees that made her eyes pop, and a pair of jeans and her favorite t-shirt, which said “talk nerdy to me” on the front. It was navy, and fitted to show off her figure nicely, plus the caption was kinda funny and flirty ( _ NOT _ that she was trying to flirt, but she thought Gwen might get a kick out of it, that’s all), and had some personality to it. Finally, she decided on the t-shirt, which she paired with a brown leather jacket, light blue jeans, and a pair of brown boots that came up just past her ankles. She wore a pair of sky blue socks that Mordred had gotten her for her birthday last year, as she wanted to keep herself grounded and not forget that Gwen was, after all, Mordred’s teacher, and friendship was what she needed. Nothing more. She forewent jewelry, since most of her necklaces and earrings were for court, rather than a casual diner. She put on her favorite raspberry lip gloss, and ran her fingers through her hair, which she had decided to let loose in their waves. Checking over her outfit in the full-length mirror, she nodded with satisfaction, just as the doorbell rang. It was only 6:30, so Morgana was puzzled. Merlin and Arthur are notoriously late for everything except work, so she didn’t think it was them. 

She answered the door to see Gwen standing there, looking as lovely as ever. She wore a dark gray pleated skirt that came down just past her knees, as well as a peach-colored long sleeve shirt, with the bottom tucked into the top of the skirt. She wore the same lavender flower earrings and purple crystal as she had on Monday night, and she wore black leggings that ended in the same boots from that night, as well. The hair above her ears was pulled back, so her face was left clear, while the rest of her hair was loose, her curls bouncing while Gwen rocked back and forth on her feet slightly. Her freckled cheeks were tinted slightly pink with a blush, a pink that matched her lip gloss beautifully. Morgana blushed similarly, and unconsciously licked her lips.

“Wow, you’re early,” she commented as she let Gwen in.

“Uh, yeah, I misjudged the time it would take to get here. Sorry.”

“No worries, we’ll just have to hang out a bit until Mordred’s father comes to watch him though.”

Gwen nodded, struggling to take in the information despite her distractedness. Morgana’s skinny jeans clung to her lower half, and it was making it hard for Gwen to concentrate. Plus, Morgana looked delectible in the t-shirt that really did accentuate her curves. Trying to read her shirt without staring at Morgana’s chest, Gwen laughed at the caption, pointing it out to Morgana.

“Oh, yeah, I thought it was so funny, I had to buy it. It’s my favorite shirt,” Morgana explained.

“Well, I can see why; it’s hilarious, and it looks fantastic on you,” Gwen replied, smirking confidently at Morgana’s responding blush and quiet “thank you.”

They sat on the couch, chatting amicably, while Mordred finished up his homework in the kitchen. Before long, the door opened again, with Merlin and Arthur walking into the house and up the stairs (Morgana had given them each a key to the house, though when she was home, she typically left it unlocked). Arthur held a pizza in one arm, and had the other slung around Merlin’s shoulders.

“Dad!” Mordred called out excitedly as he ran towards him. Arthur let his arm drop from Merlin’s shoulders as Merlin knelt down to hug his son, all three grinning brightly. “Uncle Arthur!” Mordred called as he moved from his father to his uncle (though technically his mother’s first cousin, Morgana and Arthur had grown up in the same home for most of their lives, and even before were raised together, and so Morgana considered Arthur her brother, and Mordred considered him his uncle). “You brought pizza!”

Arthur and Merlin laughed, Arthur ruffling Mordred’s hair good-naturedly. “Yeah, buddy, we did! It was that or cook!” Arthur responded.

“And we both know Uncle Art can’t cook,” Merlin stage-whispered, while Arthur gave an indignant protest as father and son laughed. 

Arthur handed Mordred the pizza, and he took it to the kitchen and started getting out the paper plates while Arthur and Mordred both approached Morgana. They each greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, first Arthur, and then Merlin, which Morgana reciprocated.

Gwen watched the entire exchange between Merlin and Morgana with a twinge of jealousy pulling at her heartstrings. She was gay, but she wasn’t blind, and she knew that Merlin was attractive, and the fact that he was Morgana’s ex made her feel a little threatened.  _ Snap out of it, Guinevere. First of all, she’s a lesbian, so chill the fuck out. Secondly, she’s not your girlfriend, so you have no right to get jealous. Thirdly, she’s the mother of a student, and you’re just friends. Get your shit together, girl _ , she thought to herself somewhat bitterly. Though she plastered a smile on her face as the other three adults turned to her.

“Oh, how rude of me. Guys, this is my friend Gwen Mallory, who is Mordred’s teacher. Gwen, this is my cousin, Arthur Pendragon, and his fiance, Merlin Emrys. Merlin is also Mordred’s father,” Morgana introduced everyone, and both of the men shook hands with Gwen. Gwen’s heart skipped a beat when Morgana had introduced her as her friend before as Mordred’s teacher. She was glad to have Morgana as a friend, at least.  _ Better than nothing _ , she thought. 

Merlin spoke up, “Oh, we’ve heard so much about you from Morgana at the office.”

“Oh, you all work together?” Gwen inquired, curiously.

“Oh, yeah. Arthur’s parents and Morgana’s parents started the law firm together, and I joined in after Arthur and I finished law school together,” Merlin explained. He turned to Morgana. “Hey, I have something to discuss with you at some point,” he said lightly.

“Can it wait until we get back? You were, after all, ten minutes late,” Morgana teased.

Merlin conceded, “That we were. And yeah, it can absolutely wait. Just something I’ve been thinking about.”

“Sounds good. Alright, well we’re gonna head out. Mordred, honey, have fun with Dad and Uncle Art!” She hugged Mordred and kissed him on the forehead and he smiled and nodded, and then she and Gwen were on their way out.

_ Finally, now I have her all to myself, _ Gwen thought kind of selfishly in her mind.

_ Finally, now I have her all to myself _ , Morgana’s thoughts echoed Gwen’s own, anticipation of a night with her friend filling her with energy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: it has come to my attention that I included Freya in chapters 3 and 5 as different characters. Well, they’re different characters now, just with the same name. Just wanted to clear that up asap. Thanks for your patience, and for reading this. I really appreciate it.

Back in Morgana’s room, Morgana straddled the woman beneath her, her own starkly pale skin contrasting with the caramel hue of her lover’s, especially with the splash of freckles that resembled constellations that spread across the woman’s body. Gwen made haste ripping off Morgana’s t-shirt, with a comment of “I’ll talk much more than nerdy to you, love.” 

Morgana shivered as she divested herself of her jeans, before moving back and working on Gwen’s shirt. Once that barrier was removed, Gwen pulled off her skirt, and was about to do the same to her leggings, before Morgana cut in. She made a disapproving (though teasing)  _ tut tut _ sound with her tongue, before speaking in a slow, deep sultry voice. “That’s  _ my _ job.”

This time, it was Gwen’s turn to shiver. In response. Morgana peeled the leggings from her lower half, her mouth kissing the insides her thighs as her hands gently and teasingly caressed the outsides. Before long, they were both down to just their underwear, kissing passionately. Gwen moved to unhook Morgana’s bra, as Morgana did the same to her simultaneously. Soon, both were unhooked. Each woman was eager, about to pull the fabric away…

Morgana shot up in her bed in a cold sweat. Disoriented, she whipped her head around, taking in her surroundings. She was in her room, lying in her bed. There was no sign of the other woman who possessed the spotlight in her dreams. Sighing with disappointment and frustration, she flipped the covers off of herself, as she was overheating. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 4:26am. Well, at least she’d have time to go back to sleep. She got out of bed and stalked to the bathroom, not even bothering to turn on the lights before running the tap and cupping her hands underneath it to collect cold water before splashing it onto her face, which was red and heated.

Morgana heard the stirring of someone else in the house. Mordred had heard her moving, and had gotten up to check on her.

“Mom, what’s going on?” he asked as he stumbled upon her in the bathroom (she’d left the door open since she was only using the sink).

“Sorry to wake you baby, I just got a little overheated and it woke me up.”

“Are you sure? You were making noises in your sleep, like a ‘hrrrrngh’ or an ‘ah’ or something.”

_ Holy shit holy shit fuck shit fuck _ . “Oh, I was just having a dream about those really good cookies we’re gonna cook this weekend. It tasted so good, so I was making happy noises at the taste. Nothing to worry about,” Morgana rambled quickly.  _ Cookies, really? Real smooth Morgana, I’m sure  _ that _ was convincing. _

Apparently Mordred bought her story, rubbing his eyes as he turned to go back to bed. “Night Momma, love you,” he yawned.

“Love you too, sweetie. Get some sleep.”

Morgana was grateful for the dark, as she was sure her cheeks were burning. Letting out yet another frustrated groan, she went back to bed, running the small fan on her desk to help her cool off. As she began to drift back into a (thankfully dreamless) deep sleep, her thoughts turned to Gwen, wondering if she was sleeping more soundly than Morgana.

 

***

 

Gwen was decidedly not sleeping better than Morgana. In fact, she was having the exact same dream as Morgana had had, and woke up at exactly 4:26am, just as the other woman had. Noticing her surroundings were her own bedroom, and not Morgana’s she cried out in frustration. “AAARGH”. She was almost to the good part before she woke up suddenly.

_ Snap out of it! _ She scolded herself.  _ You can’t be having these feelings, these thoughts, these dreams, none of it! She’s your friend, and more than that, she is the mother of your student. Nothing can happen with her, nothing. Get. That. Through. Your. Thick. Skull. _

She rolled her neck, hearing the joints crack, before doing the same to her knuckles and ankles. It came from years of writing at weird angles on the whiteboard in her classroom. Once the cracking of her joints was finished, she sighed and rolled over in her bed to face the other way. She couldn’t fall asleep immediately, so instead her mind ran over the events of the night.

 

***

 

After she and Morgana had stepped out of the house, they had gotten into Gwen’s car, and Gwen drove them to the Albion Diner. When they arrived, Morgana held the door for Gwen, Morgana’s hand resting on Gwen’s lower back as she passed. She flushed a deep red, that she hoped Morgana didn’t see.  _ She’s probably just being polite and chivalrous, nothing to get excited about, you touched-starved desperate hopeless lesbian _ , she thought to herself as she attempted to combat her blush.

Stepping into the diner, Morgana was in awe of all of the lights. Fairy lights were strewn across the ceiling like streamers at a birthday party, providing the light for the entire restaurant. Every table was a booth, with well-loved red fabric covering each booth. Some were long, on a raised platform in the back. Some were much shorter, and were along the windows bordering the outside of the room. The medium ones stood freely in the middle of the room, without any walls on either side of the booths, allowing someone to get up on either side of the same booth seat. It was an interesting set up, for sure. 

A man, the owner of the establishment, with the same shade of skin and the same freckles as Gwen approached them immediately, pulling Gwen into a tight embrace, lifting her off her feet and swinging her in a circle. Gwen squealed, crying out in surprise, peals of laughter echoing around the diner. A few guests looked up, but most ignored them. 

“Little sister, have you finally found a girlfriend? We were starting to get concerned,” the man joked.

“Ha, ha. Elyon, this is my friend Morgana Fay. Her son is one of my students at Cam Prep. Morgana, this is my brother, Elyon.” Morgana and Elyon shook hands.

“Nice to meet you, Gwen has told me stories about you,” Morgana greeted, blushing at the man’s comment, as she pulled away from the handshake.

“I’d say ‘all good things, I hope’, but I know my sister, and I know she only told you the embarrassing ones.”

“Yeah, she told me about the time you fell out of a tree at 3am and had to go to the hospital, she had me in stitches!”

Elyon groaned. “Greeeeaaaaaat, thanks.” Gwen stuck her tongue out at her brother. “Well, Morgana, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Gwen flashed a glare at Elyon that Morgana just barely noticed. She was confused by it, but brushed it off as some kind of sibling thing. She’d given Arthur plenty of similar looks throughout their lives.

“Well,  _ apparently _ , I am at a disadvantage, as I don’t know anything about you.” Morgana was also puzzled by his emphasis on the word “apparently”, and the look he gave Gwen as he said it. She brushed it off again, figuring that if it was important, Gwen would tell her later.

What Morgana did not know was that Gwen had talked to Elyon on the phone over the last few days raving about the gorgeous woman that had caught her eye. Gwen talked for what seemed to Elyon like hours on end about Morgana’s eyes, hair, humor, personality, and figure. Honestly, Elyon thought there wasn’t much that he didn’t know about the woman. The fact that she had a 10 year old was a little shocking, but he didn’t want to pry. 

Elyon led them to a booth up against the windows in the corner, the view of the shops and pedestrians providing some calming atmosphere. As Elyon walked back to the kitchen, another man approached. This one was slightly shorter, much paler, and had long sweeping brown hair and a well-kept beard to match. He introduced himself as Gwaine Knight, their server for the evening. He and Gwen had been friends for a while, since he was Elyon’s best friend, and Gwen explained this to Morgana. Morgana introduced herself, and Gwaine commented teasingly, “If I had known that you were hiding such a beauty, I would’ve requested that you share.” Morgana laughed good-naturedly, while Gwen shooed him off to return in a few minutes with some red wine for Morgana (Morgana’s favorite drink, as she had confided in Gwen during their time together on Monday), and some water for her (since she had to drive).

After Gwaine left, Gwen began apologizing profusely for her brother and his best friend, specifically for their comments and behavior. Morgana laughed, assuring Gwen that all was well. “I actually thought they were quite charming and funny. I’d love to get together with them sometime.” 

Suddenly, an idea struck Gwen. “Hey, maybe we should do a game night sometime. I know you’re busy this weekend, but maybe next weekend? We could all hang out; you, me, Elyon and Gwaine, and Merlin and Arthur! All get to know each other. I’ve never really had a close friend before, not that I’d say we’re close, but I think we have the potential to be, and I’d like to, personally -” Gwen’s rambling was cut off by Morgana grabbing her hand over the table.

“I think that’s a great idea! And I consider us friends too, and I’d like to get closer. I’ll check with Merlin and Arthur, you check with Elyon and Gwaine, and we’ll make a group chat to set up plans.”

“Oh, wait, what about Mordred? You’re new in town, so you don’t have a babysitter yet, do you? Shoot,” Gwen realized.

“Oh, no worries. I can ask Merlin’s parents. Hunith and Balinor are usually free on weekends, and they’ve been asking to see Mordred since we’ve moved back, we’ve just been so busy.”

“Awesome! So it’s a date!” Too late, Gwen realized her words. “Uh, well, not a date date, but, ah…” Gwen looked up to find Morgana giggling at her stumbling over her words. Gwen made a mock-offended expression, before breaking down and laughing as well. “Oh, you know what I mean, you jerk!”

Not long after, Gwaine came by with their drinks and to take their orders. They discussed Mordred’s schooling briefly, only for a few minutes. It was really just a formality at this point. Then they started talking about each other’s work; asking questions, spreading gossip (“Did you hear about the PTA bake sale last year? Morgause Agravaine literally flipped a table because she was so mad about Helena’s cookies selling faster than hers, can you believe? Some people!”).

Before Morgana knew it, dinner was over. She’d had a lot of fun, but she was disappointed that the night had gone by so quickly. Unbeknownst to her, Gwen was feeling the same. It was only 9, so Gwen suggested they go for a bit of a drive. Morgana agreed, not wanting the night to be over.

They drove for about thirty minutes, driving into the rural area outside of Camelot, before Gwen pulled into the driveway of a farm. She assured that they weren’t trespassing; the farm had belonged to Gwen’s mother after her own parents had died, and now that her mother had passed away, it belonged to Gwen’s father.

“I love coming out here. My mom would bring me here and we’d lay out towels and lay down and look up at the stars. That was what my brother was trying to emulate with the lights in his restaurant; the stars that our mother showed us when we were little,” Gwen explained.

“Gwen, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I know how much it sucks to lose a parent. Thank you for sharing this with me, I know how much it means.”

At ‘sweetheart’, Gwen’s heart skipped a beat. Hearing that term of endearment thrown in so casually filled her with a sense of contentment, almost as if she had known Morgana for years instead of merely days. She hoped to know her for that long. She hoped to know her better.

Gwen unpacked towels and an enormous blanket from the trunk of her car, spreading them out. It was a clear, gorgeous night, and the stars seemed to glow brighter as they lay looking up at them, almost as if they were trying to reach out and touch the women on the grass.

Morgana looked over at Gwen, her curly hair spread out around her head like a halo of chocolate. Morgana noticed one curl resting over Gwen’s eyebrow, and before she could stop herself, reached out to move it away from Gwen’s eye, closer to her ear. Gwen sat up somewhat, reclining on the arm between her and Morgana, and, before  _ she _ could stop  _ her _ self, leaned in, towards Morgana’s face, her eyes flicking towards Morgana’s lips. 

In a cruel twist of fate, Morgana’s phone picked that exact time to ring. It was Arthur, calling to let Morgana know that Mordred had gone off to bed with no issues. Morgana quietly seethed, but the damage was already done. The moment was over, evident by how Gwen had returned to her position flat on her back, pointedly staring up at the stars instead of at Morgana. Morgana sighed quietly, mirroring Gwen’s position. 

Gwen looked over at Morgana, simultaneously cursing and thanking Arthur for the interruption. On the one hand, she wanted so badly to kiss Morgana. On the other hand, she knew it couldn’t go anywhere. She would be accused of favoritism, she could lose her job (not that she thought Gaius would fire her, but it was still a possibility), or, goodness forbid, if it ended badly? She wouldn’t be able to face Morgana or Mordred again, especially not in a professional capacity. It was best just to keep this to friendship. It was all it could be. At least it allowed for Morgana to be present in her life in some capacity.  _ It’s better than nothing _ , she thought, more than a little bitterly. If only they had met under other circumstances.

After a while of looking at the stars, Gwen realized it had been half an hour, and it was now 10pm. She and Morgana began packing up, and they drove back into Camelot. Gwen arrived at Morgana’s home a little before 11 o’clock. Gwen walked Morgana up to her front door. Morgana unlocked her front door, and they hugged goodbye, and Gwen began to turn back to her car before she felt a hand grasp hers. 

Morgana reached out and took Gwen’s hand before she could turn away. She looked into her eyes, the deep, soulful brown shade grounding her. “I really had an amazing time tonight. Thank you, so much.”

“No problem, I did too. I’ll see you next weekend, should everyone be free,” Gwen responded, eyes boring into Morgana’s eyes, trying to discern their exact color (they weren’t quite green, but they weren’t quite blue, either. They were mystifying, and Gwen could’ve spent forever looking into them. 

Almost lurching forward, Morgana swooped in and planted a quick, chaste kiss on Gwen’s cheek, before turning and waving goodbye, disappearing behind her door and into her home.

Gwen returned to her car in a kind of daze. Once she was in her car and had it started, she gently touched her left hand to her left cheek where Morgana had kissed it. She shook herself out of her reverie, turning on the lights, pulling out of the driveway, and making her way home, the feel of Morgana’s lips on her cheek lingering comfortingly.

Once Morgana made it into her house and closed the front door, she leaned against it, before sinking into a seated position with her back against the door. She threw her head back, it resting against the back of the door as well, as she remembered the look on Gwen’s face when she’d kissed her cheek. She smiled, and then giggled slightly, before heading off to bed, humming a content tune as she prepared for sleep, her worries melting away as she indulged herself and thought of Gwen.


	7. Chapter 7

Morgana felt as if she had only just drifted back to sleep after waking suddenly from her dream, when her alarm went off. She got out of bed with a groan, her entire body feeling sore, as if she had slept in an odd position after she had returned to the loving arms of slumber. _Loving arms, my ass_ , Morgana thought bitterly to herself.

She stood in the center of her room, stretching her arms out to her sides and then above her head, and cracked her knuckles, then her neck, hitting a particularly painful crick that made her make an “oof” sound as it cracked. She took another step towards her closet, her knee making an audible snapping sound, that made Morgana groan in pain again. Mordred knocked on her door, concerned at the noises Gwen was making. “Mom, is everything alright?”

“Yeah sweetie, I just slept weird and now I hurt. I’ll be fine once I get some coffee in me.” Morgana didn’t typically drink coffee, and didn’t even keep it stocked at home, but she decided to text Merlin and Arthur and ask one of them to grab an order from the local coffee shop ( _not_ Starbucks; they were overpriced, and Morgana was all about supporting local small businesses whenever possible) before work, promising to pay them back. Merlin texted back saying he’d take care of it, no problem. He knew that today was the day she had to tell Mordred about their family history, and that she wasn’t looking forward to it, so he was being extra sympathetic.

 _Thanks so much, IOU big time,_ Morgana texted back in the group chat (the chat named “Halt! In The Name Of The Law”, which had been Arthur’s idea).

 _Np_ , Merlin texted back.

 _Why are y’all up so gd early? Psychos,_ Arthur added.

 _Your snoring, for one,_ Merlin replied.

 _Kid_ , Morgana explained simply.

Looking back at her closet, she rifled through some clothes. Then, she remembered that it was Casual Friday, something Arthur had apparently come up with a few years ago. All the employees who weren’t in court that day could wear casual clothes, so long as they weren’t too shabby. Morgana pulled out a pair of dark jeans, red and blue spiderman socks (for the movie with Merlin that night), and a green Bayar College t-shirt, as well as her brown leather jacket from the night before, and she would add her brown leather boots sitting by the front door to the mix when she left. She would look casual, but presentable. She hopped in the shower, and after dressing and towel-drying her hair, pulled it back into a loose ponytail near the top back of her head.

The look worked, so she nodded satisfactorily and went to the kitchen, where breakfast (not just the toast, but also the cereal and sliced bananas) was waiting for her. Mordred smiled a little sheepishly. “I know you didn’t sleep well last night, so I figured I’d help out a little more. If we eat fast enough, I’ll even handle the dishes.”

Morgana was touched. “Oh, baby this is amazing, you didn’t have to do this,” she started.

“No, I wanted to. It’s no biggie. I wish I could do more. I love you.” Mordred kissed the top of Morgana’s head as she sat in her seat, before he crossed to the other side of the table to sit across from her. “Nice socks, by the way,” he said with a bit of a snort.

“Excuse you, but my socks are amazing.” Morgana quipped back.

“So, why are we going out again?”

Morgana faltered for a moment. “To, ah, celebrate you finishing your first week of school, of course.” She paused for a moment, before adding, “And, I do have some stuff to discuss. Nothing bad,” she said quickly. “but it’s important either way. I was thinking about inviting Dad to our night together. What do you think?”

“I think that’s great! I like when we do stuff as a family,” Mordred responded. Morgana’s heart broke slightly at those words. Sometimes she wished that she had married Merlin, and given Mordred the real family that he deserved. But she just couldn’t depriver Merlin and herself the chance of love, not even for Mordred. Besides, soon he’d have two dads in addition to his mother, once Merlin married Arthur. _So, really, he gets an even bigger and better family this way, so it all works out_ , she told herself.

All of these thoughts were inward, of course. Outwardly, she only smiled slightly, nodded, and continued eating. She and Mordred finished fairly quickly, and Mordred took the dishes and rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher, while Morgana wet down a washcloth and wiped down the table. She glanced at the clock, letting Mordred know that the bus would arrive soon. He put on his school shoes and grabbed his uniform blazer from the back of his chair, giving his mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek before he shouldered his backpack and left out the front door, just in time to board the school bus.

Morgana gathered up her work bag and laptop, giving her office a cursory glance to make sure she had everything, before walking to the foyer. She sat on the stairs, staring into space distractedly as she put on her boots and laced them up, when there was a knock on the screen door (the front door almost always stayed open when they were home, as long as they weren’t sleeping). Morgana looked up from her boots, surprised to see Gwen at the door. She gestured for her to come in, hugging her in greeting. Both women blushed deeply, each remembering their dream from the night before, hoping the other one didn’t notice.

Morgana pulled back from the hug, her hands resting on Gwen’s arms, just beneath her shoulders. She looked into Gwen’s eyes, searching them, slightly confused. “What are you doing here? School starts in like 30 minutes, and it’s like a 10 minute drive from here,” Morgana asked, concerned.

Gwen said breathily (partially from her mad dash from the car to the door, and partially due to anxiety about seeing Morgana so soon after her wildly inappropriate dream. “I was getting ready this morning and realized I was missing one of my earrings. They were a gift from my mom. I called Elyon and he said they weren’t at the diner when he was cleaning up last night, and I thought I’d try here before I went to that farm and looked there,” she said quickly, taking a huge gulp of air as she finished.

“Well, I’ve got some time before I need to leave, so I’ll help you look,” Morgana offered. Gwen gave her a look of gratitude and they climbed the stairs of the little bi-level and started looking in the living room. After spending about ten minutes searching the couch cushions, Gwen heard Morgana say “Found it!” from the other side of the room. Looking up, she saw Morgana holding the little flower earring in between her thumb and index finger, holding it high and triumphantly. “It was hiding next to one of the legs of the coffee table,” She explained.

Gwen thanked her repeatedly, securing the earring in her ear before pouncing on Morgana and enveloping her in a tight hug. “Thank you so much! If I leave now I’ll be there ten minutes early, so I can unlock the classroom and get ready. Thanks again!” she exclaimed, speaking so quickly that Morgana struggled to comprehend.

Before pulling back from the hug, Gwen instinctually kissed Morgana’s cheek before running down the stairs, out of the door, and into her car. It wasn’t until she was peeling out of the driveway (she was going to have to speed a little bit) that she realized what she’d done. _Oh my god, I’m such a spaz. I run into her house, search her living room, then kiss her and run back out. What the hell, Gwen?!_ She thought to herself, lightly bumping her head against the steering wheel once she reached the stop sign at the end of the drive. Sighing, resolving to pretend it had never happened, she put on her turn signal and turned onto the road, making her way towards the school.

Morgana stood in her living room for a couple minutes, a little shell shocked. She didn’t move for two whole minutes, her mind almost totally empty save for remembering Gwen kissing her cheek, before she remembered that she had work. She finished tying her boots before leaving, locking the front door behind her, and getting into her car. Turning the key to start the engine, she thought over the events. _She probably just thought that we’re those kind of friends to kiss each other on the cheek. I mean, after all, you kissed her cheek last night,_ she told herself. _Then again_ , the other side of her mind said, _you were a little wine-tipsy last night, and Gwen was totally sober this morning…_ Morgana brushed it off. She couldn’t keep thinking about her friend like that. _Just_ her friend, nothing more.

Before Morgana knew it, she was at work. As she pulled into the parking space, she wondered how her mind hadn’t registered her drive. It was one of those times where she was just lost in thought, and she couldn’t remember exactly how she’d gotten to work, functioning more on autopilot than anything else. _I hope I didn’t run any red lights!_ She thought, a little jokingly, to herself, before exiting the vehicle and greeting Lancelot as she walked into the building. Riding the elevator up to her office, she found Merlin and Arthur in the common room just outside the offices.

Merlin was dressed in a pair of navy jeans over a pair of black gym shoes, a blue t-shirt, a red handkerchief/scarf around his neck, with a gray cardigan buttoned neatly over the bottom of his shirt. Arthur was wearing a red t-shirt, a pair of lighter jeans than Merlin’s, with a brown leather jacket and a pair of dog tags (Arthur, much like his father before him, had served in the National Guard during university). Merlin was holding her coffee, and Arthur, bleary-eyed, leaned over and rested his head on Merlin’s shoulder while Merlin had his other arm around Arthur.

“What’s going on?” Morgana asked as she grabbed her coffee from Merlin, thanking him before taking a sip.

“You dollopheads woke me up with your texting this morning. And I _do not_ snore!” Arthur pouted. Merlin chuckled good-naturedly while Morgana laughed outright.

“Don’t be such a baby,” Morgana teased as she passed him, tousling his hair like she often did to Mordred, Arthur only offering a protest of “Hey!” before he smoothed his hair back down.

“Hey, I’m gonna have to skip lunch today, guys. I packed a lunch and I’m going to eat here during our lunch hour so I can leave early to pick up Mordred from school,” she explained, ducking into her office.

Poking her head back out, she heard Merlin explaining to Arthur why today was important for Morgana and Mordred. As he finished, she addressed him. “Oh, hey, Mordred and I were thinking you could join us tonight, Merlin? He wants some family time, and it would be nice to have some backup when I’m telling him the whole story, you know? Help a friend out?” Morgana pleaded.

Merlin looked at Arthur, who shrugged. “Well, it seems that I don’t have plans with this prat, so I’m down. What time should I come over, and what should I bring?”

“Money for your own movie ticket. I’ll cover dinner, don’t worry. Be there by 5:30?”

“Sounds like a plan. We watching the new Spiderman? I know Mordred was raving about it last night.”

“Yeah, that’s the one. I’m gonna get started on my work, so I’ll see you guys later,” Morgana said, walking back into her office, closing the door behind her so she could focus.

After a few hours of listening to depositions and reading case files, Morgana stood from her desk, stretching widely with a suppressed groan at her stiff back and neck. She picked up her long since empty coffee cup, discarding it in the recycling bin in the common room as she took a lap around the floor to get her blood moving. As she walked, she noticed Merlin and Arthur alone in an otherwise empty conference room, on the other side of the floor from the partner offices. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she was a little curious by nature, and she heard her name being said, so she moved slowly and quietly, and listened carefully.

Merlin was saying, “Art, are you sure you’re okay with me going out with Morgana and Mordred? I know you’re about to be Mordred’s step-father, and he is already your nephew - well, technically it’s like second cousin, right? - and it’s important that you have time with him too. You are family either way,” Merlin said, concerned.

“ _Mer_ lin, please. I’m fine. I know Morgana didn’t mean to exclude me when she said “family time”. I know she loves me, and I love her, and I know we’re all a family. But I get it; Mordred wants time with just his parents. You and Morgana have been my family forever, but I would’ve loved to have alone time with just my mother and father, had my mom not died and my dad been more present,” Arthur responded. “I know Morgana definitely would have liked for more time with just her and her parents. She loved Gorlois and Vivienne, and the time she spent with just them was important to her, just like the time Mordred spends with you and her is important to him.”

“Wow. That was… surprisingly emotionally articulate,” Merlin said, half surprised, half teasing.

“Don’t act so surprised, after all, I did propose first,” Arthur teased back.

“Okay, I followed you by like ten seconds, we practically proposed at the same time!” Merlin protested.

Morgana chuckled quietly to herself, before hearing Merlin and Arthur kiss. It was short, but Morgana didn’t want to intrude on that.

She finished her round of the floor, thinking to herself about what she had heard. She decided she would include Arthur in more family events, and would invite both him and Merlin over more. She and Mordred really only saw Merlin a few times a year, on birthdays and holidays, and she saw Arthur even less. But now that they didn’t live so far away (about two hours by car, it had been before), it would be easier to hang out. She missed her friend, and they were the only family she had now, other than her son. Then she remembered game night the next weekend, and circled back to the conference room. She knocked on the door, but found it to be empty. Checking her watch, she confirmed that it wasn’t their lunch hour yet, so she went to check the offices. Merlin and Arthur sat in Arthur’s office, which had used to belong to his mother, Ygraine (Uther kept his office, and Merlin’s office was previously Vivienne Fay’s, as Morgana used Gorlois’ office herself). Arthur sat behind his desk, while Merlin scratched out some notes on a legal pad.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” Morgana said tentatively.

“Oh, Morgana, Merlin was just consulting on a case for me before lunch. What’s up?”

“Well, you guys know how I’ve made friends with Mordred’s teacher, Gwen?” she started. The two men both nodded, sharing a cryptic look that Morgana wasn’t sure she even wanted to try to decipher. “Well, I’m trying to establish a group of close friends. You know, find my crowd. I can’t just hang out with you two losers forever, you know,” she said with a wink.

Merlin threw his head back in a laugh while Arthur laid a hand on his heart with a mock expression of hurt, saying “You wound me, dear sister!” Morgana reminded him that they were technically cousins, before getting back to her point.

“Well, Gwen and I were talking, and we figured we could all expand our friend groups with a game night. She would be bringing her brother, Elyon, and his best friend, Gwaine. I met them both last night, and they’re both super nice and absolutely hilarious. And I’d be bringing you guys. It would be some time next weekend, I figured we’d make a group chat and figure out the details from there if everyone was on board. What do you guys think?”

“I think that sounds like fun! I’d love to kick Arthur’s ass in a variety of games in front of new people!” Merlin commented. Arthur stuck his tongue out at him, and Merlin returned the favor.

“What about Mordred?” Arthur asked.

“I figured I’d ask Hunith and Balinor. They’re usually not busy on weekends, and have wanted to see Mordred for a while. Do you think they’d be free?” This last part was addressed to Merlin, who nodded in response. He knew his parents wished they got more time with their grandson. He wished he got more time with his son as well, but he respected Morgana’s need for time and privacy. He was hoping that the move would be a chance for that, to really become a family, with him, Mordred, Morgana, and Arthur.

“Great! So I’ll let Gwen know, and we’ll set up the chat in a couple of days. See you tonight, Merlin!” Morgana began to walk out, before she turned back on her heel. “Hey, uh, I was wondering if you both would come to dinner with Mordred and I on Sunday when we see Uther. He’s demanding a weekly dinner, every Sunday, and I’m sure neither he or his staff wouldn’t mind if you two came.” Morgana knew Uther’s staff well, as most of them had been there since Morgana had lived there, and she’d kept in touch with a few. “I don’t know if you guys have told him about your engagement yet, but I figured you could while I, the disappointment child, was there as a buffer. Plus, you guys would serve as a buffer for me, and I know Mordred would be grateful to have you guys there since he knows and loves you both and has never met Uther before,” Morgana rambled nervously.

“Oh, yeah, we’ve told Dad about the engagement. He wasn’t thrilled, but he knows I love Merlin and supports it,” Arthur started, before Merlin cut in.

“I guess it was different for us because he had more time, and because Arthur actually has someone, so it was more of a concrete thing that he had to deal with than an abstract concept, you know?” Merlin was trying not to upset Morgana, but she brushed it off. Arthur was Uther’s son, as opposed to her, who had just been his ward for a few years. Of course he would handle things differently with Arthur, and she explained this, and pleaded with them to come to the dinner.

“We’d love to, Morgana,” Merlin said, after they decided.

“Great, thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me. Plus, I know Mordred wants to spend more time with you, both of you, since soon ‘Uncle Art’ will be a second father. He missed you both terribly after you would leave, and I want us, all four of us, to be a family,” Morgana assured them. Arthur beamed, trying and failing to be subtle about it. Merlin laid a hand on his and they smiled, thanking Morgana for the invitation. Morgana blew out a breath of relief. All she had said was true, about wanting to be a family. But she was also beyond grateful to have a buffer between her and Uther, so hopefully the dinner wouldn’t be so unbearably awkward.

Morgana walked back to her office and ate her lunch at her desk as she worked. After a few more hours, she glanced at her watch, noticing that it was 4:15. She packed up her bag, throwing away the debris from her lunch, and headed out. She waved at Merlin and Arthur as she passed by each of their offices, and they waved back. She was holding her favorite pen (a gift from her father, that he’d bought when she was six and saved for her 18th birthday, and that she’d found amongst his things when she was thirteen) in between her teeth, as she struggled to put her files back into her bag with one hand, while she held her bag in the other, the shoulder strap barely resting precariously on the edge of her shoulder.

She walked out of the elevator like this, tripping in the middle of the lobby. She managed to catch herself and her bag (her laptop was in there; that thing was her entire livelihood, she was _not_ dropping that), but her files went everywhere. Luckily, she’d had the good sense to get the nice manilla file folders with the metal things in them that held the papers inside in place (there were only two metal things though, spread out differently than the traditional three-hole punch, so she’d had to also purchase a special two-hole punch for her papers, but clearly it had been a worthy investment), so thankfully the files were still intact, just strewn across the lobby. “Fck” she said around the pen in her mouth, in an attempt to exclaim “fuck”. She squatted on the ground, taking the pen from her mouth and tucking it into its spot in her bag as she grabbed the nearest files and began putting them in her bag in no particular order, resolving to organize them the next day whenever she was free.

She was about to scramble for the rest of her files across the lobby, when she looked up and found them nowhere to be seen. She panicked for a split second, before Lancelot cleared his throat next to her, and she looked up to discover that he was holding the remainder of the files, all neatly stacked for easy storage. She graciously accepted them, gushing thanks as she put them away. Lancelot then offered her a hand to help her up, which she accepted. As she stood, she shouldered the strap around her so it crossed her torso and back (the main part of the bag resting on the hip opposite from the shoulder that the strap supported itself on), dusting off the dirt from her knees from her previous kneeling position.

“Wow, this lobby really needs mopping,” she joked lightly, trying to save face.

Lancelot laughed brightly. “Yeah, that happens on Fridays, so that’s a whole week’s worth of dust you just picked up there. Maybe your jeans should serve as a mop; they picked up plenty of dust before you brushed them off,” he joked back. Morgana grinned in response, chuckling slightly. “So, where are you off to so early?” He inquired.

“Oh, I’m picking up my son from school. We have an evening of movies, dinner, and ice cream that we need to get started.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun. How old is he?”

“He’s ten,” Morgana replied without thinking, wincing when she realized that she had practically told him that she’d gotten ‘knocked up’ young, as the aphorism goes.

If Lancelot noticed, he pretended not to. “Oh, that’s a fun age. I remember when my nieces was that old, and her little brother, my nephew, is ten now. They’re a lot of fun, even if they do bicker constantly,” he replied, giving a weary but good-natured smile.

 _Lancelot is really nice. I think I’d like to be friends with him,_ Morgana thought. An idea popped into her mind. “Hey, Lancelot, a few friends and I are starting a group chat to try to get together for a game night, and I’d love to have you there. The more the merrier, right? It’d be Merlin, Arthur, myself, my friend Gwen, her brother, and his best friend. What do you think?”

“That sounds great! I’d love to make friends. I just moved to Camelot, and I don’t really have any friends yet. When were you thinking?”

“Sometime next weekend. We don’t have the details mapped out yet; that’s what the group chat’s for.” Lancelot nodded, and reached for his phone to add Morgana as a contact. She gave him her number, and he texted her his full name for her contact info.

“Lancelot Du Lac? As in Duloc from Shrek?” Morgana asked jokingly.

Lancelot laughed heartily. “I’ve never heard that one before, actually! I didn’t even think about that! I love that movie, how did I not notice?”

“Benefits of having a ten-year-old, I guess,” Morgana quipped. “Speaking of, I’ve gotta go and pick him up. I’ll let my friend know that we’re adding another to the group! See ya on Monday!” she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the lobby, just catching Lancelot’s wave in return.

Feeling excited about the prospect of another friend, in addition to a night spend with family, Morgana smiled as she got into her car. _But what about…_ her mind started, before she cut off the thought. She wasn’t going to focus on the negative. Tonight was about Mordred and fun. And with a decisive nod, Morgana started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.


	8. Chapter 8

Before long, Morgana was pulling into the school parking lot. It was another one of those times where she drove there on autopilot, not able to recall any specifics of the trip. Unlike this morning, however, this time Morgana’s mind was not wondering in a confused fashion, but rather buzzing with nervous excitement. She was excited to spend the entire evening with her son, but was nervous about telling him about her history. Either way, she was determined to have a good time, now that she had Mordred all to herself since school was over. Tomorrow, Mordred would finish his homework in the morning, and then they’d spend all afternoon baking cookies to take to the Pendragon household on Sunday for ‘family dinner’ with Uther.  _ Oh, I should invite the boys _ (that was what she called Arthur and Merlin) _ to bake with us. I know Arthur won’t help much, but that just means he can pay for takeout! _ Morgana usually enjoyed spending weekends just with Mordred, but she was happy to have her family - that is, her chosen family, that included Arthur, Mordred, and Merlin - back together, and she wanted to make up for lost time from when she left home when she was pregnant.

These thoughts raced through her mind as she parked and began climbing the stairs to the entrance. Once inside, she easily navigated to Gwen’s classroom, where Mordred was waiting for her. Glancing at her watch on the way, Morgana noted that it was 4:50, so this time she was 10 minutes early instead of being late (Though, the way things had worked out, she didn’t regret being late before at all. Otherwise, she wouldn’t’ve become friends with Gwen).

The door was ajar when she arrived, so she walked right in. Since it was a Friday, most children had already left. Mordred was the only student still in the classroom, thus he had all of Gwen’s attention. The two of them were seated at Gwen’s desk, playing what looked like a very intense game of Uno. Morgana watched, unnoticed by the other two, as Gwen cautiously played one of her cards. Mordred immediately slammed down his card, exclaiming “Boom! I win!” loudly. Gwen laughed, and handed her cards to Mordred to calculate her score and add it to the scorecard. Morgana laughed as well, causing both Gwen and Mordred to look up from their game. Morgana strode over and kissed her son on the head, smoothing back his hair. He beamed up at her before returning to his calculations. Morgana chuckled and turned to Gwen, who stood and strode over to Morgana and hugged her. 

Pulling away, Gwen explained, “We’ve been the only ones here for about twenty minutes, and Mordred said you two play Uno a lot and that it’s one of his favorites, so we decided to play a few hands. Plus, I figured it was a good time to work on some extra math, which he is really good at. He hasn’t even needed to use a calculator!”

“Yeah, he’s always been excellent at mental math. No idea where he gets that from; both Merlin and I are hopeless at it. We’re more readers than mathematicians. That’s why we’re both lawyers, not scientists,” Morgana joked. Hearing Gwen’s twinkling laugh made her heart feel like it was glowing in her chest. Gwen reached to start cleaning up the Uno cards. “Actually, we have a few minutes before we need to get going. If you don’t have anything going on, I’d like to play a hand,” Morgana suggested.

“That sounds great! Can you shuffle and deal? I’m going to clean up a little bit,” Gwen responded, handing the cards to Morgana when she nodded in agreement, and then she turned to the room and picked up the paper scraps, markers, and books that the other students had left on their desks. In the meantime, Mordred flipped over the scorecard and filled in his own name, as well as his mother’s and teacher’s names.

Just as Morgana finished shuffling (she was a very thorough shuffler), Gwen finished putting away the last of the items that had been left out, and came back over to her desk and slumped down into her chair across the desk from Mordred and Morgana. Morgana then dealt out the cards, giving one to Gwen first, then one to Mordred, and then two herself, counting under her breath as she counted (“One, one, one. Two, two, two. Three, three three,” and so on) until each person had 7 cards exactly.

“I don’t know how you play, Gwen, but we typically play that if you need to draw, you can only draw one card, and then your turn is over. Also, you can’t contest a word card by adding another word card of the same kind on top of it, and you can only play draw-4s if you don’t have any other cards that play. Normal wilds can be played any time,” Morgana laid out the rules.

“Yeah, that’s how we play in the Mallory house. Do some people not play by those rules?”

“Merlin used to play like that when we were younger, but Arthur and I corrected that before Mordred was born.”

“Weird. I’m first, right?” Gwen confirmed.

So they played the game, punctuating their turns with joking trash talk, and exclamations of frustration when one of them used a word card against another. Morgana ended up winning the round, which Mordred called “beginner’s luck!” (“Young man, I have been playing this game for twice as long as you’ve been alive,” was Morgana’s mock-stern reply).

Little did they know that Gaius had heard the commotion from down the hall, on his way back from an after-school meeting. He stood in the doorway, watching for a while. It had been a very long time since he’d seen a true smile on Morgana’s face, and his heart swelled, knowing that she had finally found someone that made her happy.

 

***

 

Morgana sat on the recliner, watching the previous week’s episode of SNL (she liked to take her news with a healthy does of comedy, so the Weekend Update segment was her favorite) while she waited for Mordred to get dressed. They were going to grab a quick (but small) dinner at the Albion Diner, and then they’d be off to the movies. Mordred knew about this part of the plan, but he didn’t know that they were going to get ice cream after the movie (Merlin’s idea, and he offered to pay), and they’d eat that on the car ride home. Once they were home, Morgana was going to sit Mordred at the table to explain her past to him. Afterwards, in order to lighten the mood, she’d offer to Mordred to stay up extra late and watch an episode of Danny Phantom or Avatar the Last Airbender (which were Mordred’s favorite shows, and ones that Morgana found funny as well). She wanted to end the night on a fun note so Mordred wouldn’t go to bed upset or worried.

Merlin walked in, calling out a “hello!” in greeting.

“Over here!” Morgana replied, waving her hand above her head so Merlin could see it from the landing. He took off his shoes and climbed the stairs before flopping down onto the couch. 

“Ey, Matt Damon hosting. Like him,” he commented casually. “Where’s Mordred?”

“Getting dressed. He wanted to wear all of his Spiderman merch to the movie tonight.”

“Oh my god, that’s adorable. I hope he never grows up,” Merlin sighed. “I understand why you did it Morgana, but I wish I hadn’t missed out on so much with him.”

“I know. It’s my greatest regret, not having you and Arthur in our lives for so long.”

They sat in an awkward silence for a moment, broken by Merlin suddenly exclaiming, “Arthur and I should get Merlin a Spiderman costume for Halloween!”

“Really? That’s what’s on your mind? What are you, twelve?” Morgana teased lovingly. Merlin stuck out his tongue in response.

“What’s so bad about it?”

“I just don’t know if Mordred should go trick-or-treating this year. I mean, we just moved here, and we don’t know any of our neighbors. I just don’t feel comfortable with it,” Morgana said with a sigh. She felt awful about not letting Mordred trick-or-treat this year, but she was overprotective, and didn’t want to put him at risk.

Merlin understood Morgana’s concern, countering with, “Well, what if he came to Arthur and my neighborhood?” The two of them had been living there together for the last 6 years, since they finished their undergraduate degrees (which they finished in two years, just like Morgana, thanks to all of the college credit classes they’d taken at Camelot Prep over their years there). “We know all of our neighbors really well. And I know that Halloween always leaves you exhausted, so Arthur and I could take Mordred around the neighborhood, and you could hand out candy instead, if that’s any easier?” Merlin offered.

Morgana was overwhelmed. “Merlin, that sounds amazing. Are you sure Arthur won’t mind?”

“Absolutely. We were actually just talking about this today at the office. Arthur wants to be more involved in Mordred’s life, just like I do. We’re thrilled that your back, and we want to be a family again.”

Morgana smiled. “In the interest of full disclosure, I was actually passing by and overheard that conversation. I want us to be a family again, too.”

Merlin got up and hugged her. “Thank you, you don’t know how much this means.”

“Trust me, I do.”

It was then that Mordred finally emerged from his bedroom. He wore a pair of blue jeans, a long-sleeved shirt that displayed the pattern of Spiderman’s costume, as well as a hand-drawn spiderman mask, tied with twine behind his head. He made the web-shooting hand gesture at Merlin, and then mimed pulling him closer. Ever the good sport, Merlin lurched forward, crying out in mock-pain and pretending to struggle against Spider-Mordred. Once Mordred had him closer, Merlin pounced, lifting him up off the ground and tickling him mercilessly. Mordred shrieked and giggled, while Merlin made a pretend evil laugh. Merlin ceremoniously dropped Mordred onto the couch, collapsing next to him as Mordred dissolved into a fit of giggles. Morgana grinned at the sight.

“Alright lads, that’s enough. We’ve got to get going, or we’re going to be late. Merlin, who’s driving, me or you?”

“I’ll drive,” he responded, before turning back to his son. “Alright, let’s be a good boy for mum and get shoes on. Go go go!”

Mordred scrambled up and ran to his room before returning with a pair of Spiderman socks (that matched his mother’s) and light-up Spiderman sneakers. They were a little beat up; he’d had them for a year now, and they were hand-me-down to begin with, but he loved them, and had refused Morgana’s offer to buy him new ones.

Once Mordred was ready, they piled into Merlin’s car. Morgana started their driving tradition: “Seat belts buckled? Mordred?”

“Check!”

“Merlin?”

“Check!” he responded, glad to be included. He knew how important traditions were to Morgana; she’d missed out on making them with her own parents after they died, so her traditions with Merlin were deeply personal. The fact that she was letting him in on it meant a lot, a clear sign of effort in trying to bring the family back together, and Merlin was grateful. “Morgana?”

“Check! And we are outta here!” Mordred chimed the last sentence in sync with his mother, both clapping as Merlin pulled out, all laughs and smiles.

Morgana gave Merlin directions to the diner, since he didn’t know the route there from Morgana’s house, just his own.

As they walked in, they were greeted by Elyon. “Morgana, long time, no see, eh?” he joked. “Gwen told Gwaine and I about game night, and we are totally in. We’re going to set up that group chat tomorrow. Gwen texted me, told me you added someone to the group?”

“Yeah, Lancelot Du Lac, from work. He’s our head of security, and he’s so sweet, and he’s new in town as well, so I figured he could use some friends.”

“Well, the more the merrier! Back to the matter at hand; this must be your son! Mordred, right? I’m Elyon Mallory, your teacher is my sister. A pain, isn’t she?” he joked lightly.

Mordred giggled. “No, I like Miss Mallory! I’m glad she and mom are friends, she’s nice!”

Elyon laughed. “Yeah, Gwen’s always been sweet.” He turned to Merlin to introduce himself, his face taking on a look of pleasant surprise. “Mr. Emrys, it’s good to see you again!” He offered his hand for a shake, and Merlin took it.

Morgana looked between the two of them, puzzled, and Mordred mirrored the look. “I didn’t realize you two knew each other,” Morgana stated.

“Yeah, I was Mr. Mallory’s lawyer when he bought the place,” Merlin explained.

“Please, you helped me get the restaurant, you get to call me Elyon. Besides, from what it seems, we’re gonna be hanging out pretty soon, so if we’re going to be friends, we should be on a first name basis.”

“Elyon it is. You can call me Merlin.”

“Cool, now that introductions are over, I’m ravenous. Lead the way?” Morgana intervened. Elyon nodded, letting Morgana know that Gwaine would be their server again. He led them to one of the medium-sized booths in the middle of the place, and they had just sat down when Gwaine came over. Morgana made the proper introductions, and tousling Mordred’s hair in a brotherly fashion, he bounded off to grab drinks and give their order to the kitchen.

After giving them their drinks, Gwaine walked back over to Elyon, who had beckoned for him.

“I kinda get why Gwen was jealous,” Gwaine commented. Elyon nodded in agreement.

“They’re all so nice, and they seem pretty close. Gwen is so smitten, but I don’t know how she’s going to break through that dynamic,” Elyon sighed, worried for his sister.

“Well, that woman is definitely not straight,” Gwaine replied. “Otherwise, she’d be all over this.” He gestured to his own body, and started to walk away. Grinning evilly, Elyon took the dishcloth off his shoulder, twisted it up, and snapped Gwaine right on the ass with it. He let out an “oof” and jumped in surprise, turning back and giving a laughing Elyon the middle finger as he rubbed the spot where he’d been hit with his other hand.

 

***

 

After the movie, they hit up the local ice cream parlor (Sorbet King, was its name), which had been around since Merlin and Morgana were young. Morgana got black raspberry chip flavor, Merlin got chocolate, and Mordred got blueberry pie flavor. They each got a bowl, so there was less chance of anyone making a mess in Merlin’s car on the ride home. Once they got home, Mordred flopped on the couch and continued eating his ice cream. Morgana decided to let him finish before she told him everything.

Once he was done, he threw away his bowl, and Merlin told him to go wash off his face (how that boy managed to make a mess of his ice cream when it was in a bowl was beyond Morgana), and to get his pjs on, and then to come to the table. Morgana sat in her normal seat, and Merlin sat to her right, placing a hand on top of Morgana’s in support while she tensed in anticipation. Mordred came and sat down across from his mother. Morgana took a big breath in, and released it, ready to begin her tale.

“Before I start, I want to make it clear that I love you, Mordred. I wouldn’t trade you for the world, and if I had to do it all over, I’d still pick you in a heartbeat. I want you to keep that in mind while I talk, understand?” Morgana waited until Mordred nodded his understanding before continuing.

“I know we never really talked about age, so I don’t know how much you’ve figured out, but I should tell you that I had you young. Really young. I’m 26 now. Do you know how old that made me when I had you?”

“16.”

“That’s right. I was in high school, at Camelot Prep. My parents went there, and so they sent me there too, starting at kindergarten. You know how you’ve never met my parents? They passed away when I was 8. When they were gone, I went to live with Uncle Art. His dad, Uncle Uther, took me in and raised me. That’s why Uncle Art is considered your uncle, rather than my cousin. We were so close, it was like we were siblings.” Morgana paused a moment to make sure that Mordred understood. He nodded, so she continued.

“So Arthur and I grew up together, and Dad here was our best friend. We were really close. So, you know how I’m gay, that I like girls and not boys? Well, Uncle Uther didn’t like that, and I knew he didn’t. So, instead of telling him, I kept it from him. And I didn’t want Uncle Art to get in trouble, so I told your dad. He told me that he thought he was gay, too. We wanted to make sure we were gay, before we told other people, though. So we… ah, dated, yeah, dated. When we were 16. And something happened, and suddenly, I was pregnant with you. And I want to remind you that, just because we didn’t have you on purpose, doesn’t mean we don’t both love you. I love you, so much, and so does your dad.” 

Mordred nodded in understanding. “I know. I love you guys so much too.”

Morgana choked back a sob, trying desperately to pull herself together. After taking a few seconds to compose herself, she continued. “So I had to tell Uncle Art and Uncle Uther. Uncle Art wanted to help me tell Uncle Uther, but I needed to do it on my own. So I told Uncle Uther that I was pregnant with you. He was upset. He didn’t want me to have you. Remember, he didn’t know you, or how much of a wonderful kid you are. He just didn’t want my life to take a different course than the one he had planned. He was going to make me continue that life plan, and he wanted me to… give you away, let’s say. I refused. I told him I was gay, and he kicked me out. That’s when we moved into Auntie Veronica’s old house with Mrs Finch, our first home from when you were little, remember?”

Mordred remembered, he’d been 6 when Morgana saved enough to move them to a real apartment, though they still visited Mrs Finch on Saturdays for dinner, and they made homemade cookies once a month until she died two years later. She’d left all of her recipes to Morgana in her will, and Morgana treated them like a religious text. Mordred nodded.

“So I had you, and I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life - and that has never, and will never, change - so I worked my butt off to give you a good life. Now that I’ve made something for myself, I got that job with Dad and Uncle Art at the law firm. Well, that firm was started by my parents, as well as Uncle Art’s parents. Since Uther is the only one still alive, he owns the company. Now, he requires that we have a weekly dinner with him, on Sunday nights. That’s why I’m telling you all of this; our first dinner with him is this Sunday night,” Morgana finished, searching Mordred’s eyes tentatively, trying to read his reaction to everything she’d just told him.

“So he wants to meet me now?” Mordred asked.

Morgana nodded, but couldn’t find words. She was tapped out. Merlin spoke up, a reassuring arm around Morgana’s shoulders. “Yeah, he wants to see Mom again and meet you. Don’t worry though; Uncle Art and I will be there too, and for the first dinner this weekend, so will Nanna and Gamp” (“Nanna” and “Gamp” are the terms that Mordred used for his grandparents, Hunith and Balinor, respectively).

“Okay.”

Morgana’s brow furrowed in confusion, and she let out a disbelieving half-laugh. “Whoa, wait. You sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yeah. He didn’t want us around, so now, we can show him how successful you are, and everything he missed with me growing up. He doesn’t deserve to know us, but if he has to, then we can at least show him how much he missed that he can’t ever get back.”

Morgana was floored. She’d never in her life known a more mature kid. She still stuck her tongue out at her friends, so he clearly didn’t get that from her. He was strong and brave and capable, and she loved him so much.  _ At Uther can never say that I’ve never done anything right _ . 


	9. Chapter 9

Morgana woke the next morning even more stiff than she had been the night before. Sitting up, she realized that she was lying in the reclining chair in her living room. The lamp on the end table to her left, next to the large couch, was on, casting the room in a golden glow. Across from where she lay, Mordred was sprawled out on the loveseat. To her right, the TV was still running Avatar the Last Airbender, and to her left, she could make out one blond head, and one head of short black hair. Reading the clock, she sighed in relief. It wasn’t even midnight yet; None of them had been asleep long, and thus they’d all still get a good night’s rest.

The events of the night before came back to her slowly, being in the groggy post-nap state that she was. Her telling Mordred everything. Mordred reacting better than she could have ever foreseen. Calling Arthur and inviting him over for a sleepover. All of them falling asleep in front of the television. Morgana got up, wincing at her soreness, and gently shook Arthur and Merlin awake.

Bleary eyed, the men sat up, looking at Morgana, clearly disoriented. She whispered, “We fell asleep. You guys would probably be more comfortable in the guest room downstairs.” Part of the basement had been turned into a guest room. “Do you know where the guest room and the bathroom are down there?”

“Yeah, Mordred gave us a tour the other night when we were over,” Arthur replied, rubbing some of the sleep from his eyes.

Merlin stretched, looking at the clock above the television. “Technically, for the next for minutes anyway, that was last night,” Merlin teased. Arthur responded by whacking him in the back of the head with a pillow.

Merlin got up and began to walk over to the stairs, stopping when he realized that Arthur wasn’t behind him. “What are you doing,” he whispered as Arthur approached Mordred, who was still sleeping soundly on the smaller couch. 

“I’m going to carry him back to his bed,” Arthur replied with a casual shrug. Morgana whispered her thanks, while Merlin grabbed his and Arthur’s overnight bag and brought it downstairs to the guest room.

Arthur picked up Mordred gingerly, situating Mordred so his head was comfortably resting between Arthur’s shoulder and neck, both of Mordred’s arms wrapped around his neck, with one of Arthur’s arm supporting his back and the other underneath his legs, acting like a sort of chair for Mordred. He carried him the short distance across the hall, following Morgana. When Morgana reached the door, she opened it, stepping inside the room so that Arthur could follow. She turned on a lamp instead of the overhead light so that Mordred would remain asleep, but Arthur could still see where he was going. Arthur placed him gently on his bed next to the window on the far left side of the room. Morgana stood next to it, having just pulled back the covers so Mordred wouldn’t be resting on top of them. Once Arthur had situated Mordred into a more comfortable position, Morgana pulled the covers up and over him and gently tucked him in, kissing him on the top of the forehead when she was done. She and Arthur backed out of the room as carefully and quietly as they could. Once they were out of the room, Morgana closed the door softly, before she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. 

She stood on her tiptoes and pulled Arthur in for a hug, whispering, “I’m so glad we’re family again,” in his ear before placing a kiss to his cheek. He hugged her back and kissed her forehead, then pulled back and allowed her to go to her own bed in the room nextdoor. He crept downstairs, and found Merlin face down and spread-eagle in the middle of the queen-sized bed in the guest room. He gave the sleeping figured a tired, loving smile, before he gently rolled Merlin over and climbed into the bed with him.

 

***

 

Morgana woke back up at nine, feeling more rested than she had all week. All tenderness was gone from her muscles and joints, and she felt refreshed and relieved, almost as though a massive weight had lifted off of her chest. Clearly, this whole business about telling Mordred had been weighing on her, but now that it was dealt with, everything seemed brighter.  _ Until tomorrow night, anyway _ , a darker part of her mind reminded her bitterly.  _ Can’t you just let me enjoy this? _ she thought back at herself as she rose from her bed, made it neatly, and got in the shower.

Morgana was the first one up, judging by the silence in the house. After her shower, she put on a pair of cozy sweatpants and a massively baggy t-shirt with a hole in the collar that she’d gotten from Arthur years ago. It had been big on him, so he’d given it to Morgana when she was pregnant as maternity clothing. She’d kept it and used it often. Over her feet went a pair of gray and white striped fuzzy socks, and she went to the kitchen to begin making breakfast, grabbing her apron from its designated hook along the way.

She knew her boys well, and not long after she started making pancakes and frying bacon, a sleepy Mordred came into the kitchen. He rubbed his eyes and sat down at his seat. A few moments later, Merlin and Arthur joined. Arthur looked a little more awake than Merlin and Mordred, but only barely. Merlin sat in his seat from the night before, and Arthur sat across from him and to Mordred’s left, ruffling Mordred’s hair affectionately, receiving a grumbled “morning” in response.

“Can one of you get some plates out? I need a serving plate for bacon, another for pancakes, and the table needs to be set,” Morgana requested.

If Mordred and Merlin understood her in their sleep-addled minds, they pretended not too. Arthur, noticing a lack of movement from the other two boys, sighed and stood up. Morgana told him where everything was, and he set the table, placing the additional serving plates on the kitchen counter for Morgana’s use. He also grabbed cups from the cabinet, along with orange juice from the fridge, and poured out a cup for everyone before putting the juice carton back and distributing the cups to the designated spots around the table. He also got three mugs and poured out some coffee from the coffee maker on the counter, which Morgana had started before the rest of her cooking (she didn’t usually have time to make any in the mornings before work, so she went without it on weekdays, making coffee more of a weekend treat or an emergency boost for weekdays when she was really tired). After pouring out the last of the coffee, he rinsed out the pot before putting it in the dishwasher, and then carried the mugs to the table. He set one in front of Morgana, one in front of Merlin, and sipped at his own before sitting down. He and Merlin had gotten a taste for black coffee during all-nighters in law school, so they weren’t concerned. Morgana got the creamer out of the fridge and added some of it to her cup, as well as a spoonful of sugar. As she put the sugar in, she hummed “Spoonful of Sugar” from  _ Mary Poppins _ , which she continued to do as she served up the bacon and pancakes and brought them to the table. 

Mordred’s head perked up at the arrival of food, so he grabbed a couple pancakes and a few strips of bacon before anyone else could reach the plate, making Morgana snort in amusement. Arthur grabbed his breakfast, and then took Merlin’s plate and got his food for him, earning him a grateful (though tired) smile over Merlin’s coffee. Morgana then served herself some.

Soon, everyone was looking much more alert, now that they had food in their stomachs and, in the case of the adults, caffeine in their bloodstream. Morgana told Merlin that since he didn’t help with breakfast, he was on dish duty. Mordred offered to clear the table as Merlin stood, taking the empty plates and cups and placing them next to the sink as Merlin put on Morgana’s apron (after getting permission, of course) and began scrubbing at the frying pans.

Once Mordred cleared and wiped down the table, he plopped next to his mom on the short couch, while Arthur sprawled across the longer couch. Morgana and Arthur were each finishing up their coffee.

“Can I try some?” Mordred asked. Morgana and Arthur looked at each other for a moment.

“Well, he can’t have mine; it’s definitely too strong for him,” Arthur told Morgana.

Morgana sighed. “I’ll warn you, you probably won’t like it.” Nonetheless, she handed the mug to Mordred. Merlin, who had heard the conversation, poked his head out of the kitchen to witness what was going on. Arthur pulled out his phone and started recording it on video.

Taking the mug, Mordred took a tentative sip. He was fine for a moment, until his face screwed up into a look of intense bitterness, and he ran to the fridge to grab a juice box to get rid of the horrid taste, while the adults laughed, then cooed with sympathy.

Mordred pouted into the camera as he finished his juice box.

“Baby, we told you you wouldn’t like it,” Morgana soothed as he sat next to her.

“Not our fault you didn’t listen, bud,” Arthur added. Mordred continued pouting until Morgana thought to pull out a deck of cards. Mordred’s eyes lit up immediately. “Whoa, that was fast. What’s going on?” Arthur asked.

“Card magic!” Morgana, Mordred, and Merlin (who had finished the dishes and came to sit next to Arthur on the couch) exclaimed simultaneously.

Arthur made a face of fake disgust and fear. “SORCERY?!” he cried, in a voice and tone that somehow reminded Morgana of Uther, causing everyone to laugh.

Mordred and Merlin showed Arthur some of their card tricks, meanwhile Morgana went to her bedroom and pulled an index card box from the top shelf of her bookcase. She rifled through the laminated contents of the box until she found the three cards she was looking for, pulling them out and closing and replacing the box to its designated position on the shelf. She ran her hands over the neat handwriting, overcome with nostalgia. She was determined to mix old traditions with her old-but-also-new-again family. Starting with these.

She pulled out a box from underneath her bed, containing two cloth items, one red, the other green. She removed them from the tub, kicking the tub back under her bed with her foot as she turned and left the room, hands clutching at the recipes and the cloth items draped over her arms as she carried them to the living room.

All three of them looked up as Morgana entered the living room once more, Mordred’s eyes lighting up as he caught sight of the index cards, while Merlin and Arthur gazed confusedly at the fabric in her arms. Mordred scrambled up off the couch and snatched the recipes from his mother’s outstretched hand and took them to the kitchen, before returning to the hall to grab his apron off his hook, next to which sat two new hooks. Morgana distributed the fabric; the red one went to Arthur, and the green one to Merlin. As the men unfolded their respective fabrics, they realized what they were: aprons. 

“We are all going to make cookies using my secret recipes! Don’t worry,” she said, spotting Arthur licking his lips in anticipation, “we will eat some of the cookies today, but we are going to save most of them for dinner tomorrow. I mean, we have to have something sweet to mask Uther’s bitterness,” Morgana said cheerfully, before donning her own apron and dashing to the kitchen to help Mordred get out the ingredients. 

Merlin and Arthur followed closely behind with their own aprons. They stood at the head of the kitchen table, where Mordred had laid out baking sheets (and old newspaper underneath, to catch any runaway messes). They stood next to each other, and the nudged Mordred to get him to join them. Standing in a row, they all turned to Morgana, and simultaneously saluted. “Sir yes sir!” they called out in unison. Morgana laughed, before coming up alongside them, back straightened.

“Private Pendragon,” she started with Arthur, “you will sprinkle flour on the baking sheet. Dismissed.” Arthur went to the cabinet that Mordred indicated with his finger. “Private Emrys, you will get out these ingredients,” she commanded, handing him a list. “Dismissed.” He scampered off.

Finally, she turned to Mordred. “Leutennient Fay, you will be in charge of the cookie cutters for the sugar cookies. Help Private Pendragon with rolling them while I handle Private Emrys and assist him with the chocolate chip cookies.”

“Sir yes sir!” Mordred called back, saluting once more.

“Dismissed!” Morgana called out again. All four laughed and went about with their tasks.

 

***

 

Everyone sat on the couch as Mordred decimated Arthur in a rousing game of Mario Kart. Morgana and Merlin would join once the last batch of cookies was out of the oven. The air inside the house was heavy with the scent of cookies. Arthur and Mordred had made sugar cookies, some cut in the shape of stars, while the rest were in the shape of trains. Morgana and Merlin had made the chocolate chip cookies, and then they all joined together to work on the peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies (the peanut butter made the dough harder to stir, so they all worked together). Of course, they had left some raw dough for themselves, which they had eaten with spoons just before collapsing in the living room. It was about 1:30, past time for lunch, but no one was hungry yet; too preoccupied with the cookies and the game. Morgana planned on making lunch after the last of the cookies were done and cooling on the rack. 

The timer on the oven dinged, making Morgana start. She began to stand, when Merlin placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “I’ve got it, sit back down.”

“It’s fine, I have to make lunch anyway,” she protested, just as Arthur stood, the video game having just ended. 

“Merlin and I will make lunch, since you made breakfast.  _ And _ we’re doing the dishes. Don’t even think about setting foot in the kitchen to make lunch, or you’ll be grounded, young lady,” Arthur teased.

“‘Young lady’? I’m older than you!”

“By like two weeks!”

“Seventeen days, actually!” Morgana reminded him. Arthur turned and stuck his tongue out in response, which Morgana returned. 

Mordred moved from the recliner over to where Merlin had been sitting a moment before, and nuzzled up against his mother’s side. She gave him a side hug and a kiss on the head, and he looked up and smiled at her. Soon, that smile turned into a sly, wicked grin, as he held up the other controller. Morgana returned the grin and took the controller, and the two of them played, cackling whenever one of them beat the other. They ended up tying, finishing the game just as Arthur and Merlin finished making lunch. Morgana and Mordred were ordered to sit at their places at the table. After doing so, Merlin served them grilled cheese sandwiches, while Arthur came around with more hearty sandwiches, which contained ham, turkey, mayo, lettuce, and turkey bacon (which Arthur had brought the night before, since he knew Merlin loved it on sandwiches, and they’d decided to use for everyone’s sandwiches). Morgana smiled up at them both appreciatively, and they returned the smile before sitting in their own seats. Merlin gestured ceremoniously to the table of food and called, “Dig in!”


	10. Chapter 10

Morgana’s Sunday was in direct contrast with the previous day that she spent laughing with her family.

She woke up an hour earlier than she needed to, still tired, but could not for the life of her go back to sleep. She finally gave up on returning to slumber and got out of bed. She stood, and took a step away from her bed. Immediately, her knee gave a painful “POP”, and Morgana groaned in (somewhat exaggerated) agony, collapsing back on her bed in a seated position. She was so unbalanced, she bonked her head on the wall behind her, adding to her pain.

“Fucking shit,” she muttered to herself, groaning again. She stood again, taking a tentative step forward. When her knee didn’t make that horrible sound again, she nodded in tired satisfaction. She stretched, her fingertips grazing the ceiling as she came up on her toes and reached her arms up as high as she could, stretching not only her arms but also her back and abdomen. Finishing her stretch, she felt slightly better. She grabbed her slippers and robe, pulling them on before she made her way to the kitchen to brew some coffee. _I’m going to need more than caffeine to deal with the sentient headache that is Uther Pendragon, but it’s a good start_. Morgana had informed Arthur and Merlin the night before that she intended to have some red wine at dinner; she refused to be completely sober if she was putting up with Uther’s bullshit for the first time in almost eleven years. So, at least that meant she didn’t have to worry about driving; Arthur and Merlin had offered to pick up her and Mordred, and Arthur became the designated driver of the night. She didn’t have any alcohol at the house (she refused to leave it in Mordred’s reach; though she trusted him, he was a curious boy, and she didn’t want to give him the temptation to explore alcohol to begin with), otherwise she would pregame before dinner at Uther’s. Alas, she’d have to make due with the bottle of Bordeaux that Merlin promised to bring (Plus, Arthur was bringing her a secret flask of whiskey just for her for the drive; he knew she’d need it). She thought about this while the coffee brewed. When the machine beeped, she got out a mug and poured it out, adding her creamer and sugar, and getting out leftovers from the previous night’s takeout. She brought them over to the table, as well as eating utensils, and sat, taking a long gulp of coffee.

“Are you eating Chinese for breakfast?”

Morgana finished her sip and turned to find her son leaning against the doorway, with mild judgement in his eyes.

“Yeah, and you’re having tacos. You can get them out of the fridge, I’m not moving until my coffee is gone,” She replied, reaching up to ruffle his hair lovingly as he passed. He had wanted Mexican food last night, as had Merlin, but Arthur and Morgana were craving Chinese, so they ordered both, hence the different kinds of leftovers for breakfast.

Mordred and Morgana ate in relative silence. When Morgana was done, she poured out a second cup of coffee from the pot, drinking it black in one go.

“Whoa, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink more than one cup in the morning, not even when you had exams.”

“Yeah, well that should tell you something about Uther Pendragon,” Morgana replied, shuddering at the bitter taste of the black coffee before pouring out the last of the pot into her mug. She added creamer and sugar again, and drank all of it in one go again.

“Permission to say a curse word?” Mordred asked.

“Granted.” Morgana was curious about what he was going to say.

“Daaaaaaamn!”

Morgana laughed so hard, she almost dropped her favorite mug. She rinsed it out in the sink, still chuckling. “Can you start the dishwasher while I get the laundry?”

Mordred nodded as he finished the last bite of his taco, adding the tupperware to the dishwasher as he started it. Morgana grabbed a basket out of the hall closet and trot down the stairs to the laundry room in the basement. Once she arrived, she opened the dryer and reached in to grab the clothes, her hand recoiling almost immediately. “Fuck!”

“What happened?” Mordred called from upstairs.

“Oh, the washer and dryer never actually ran last night, so I’ve got to run it now, no biggie!” Morgana replied. She was upset though; she wouldn’t have time to fold the laundry before they left for Uther’s now, so she’d have to do it when they got back. She enjoyed spending Sunday evenings relaxing in front of the TV, but now everything was delayed. She considered cancelling on Uther, but he had made a thinly veiled threat that he would demote her if she declined. She couldn’t afford that, as most of her salary went towards paying for Mordred’s tuition and saving for his college and future. There was a small amount which went into a holiday fund, for Christmas and Mordred’s birthday, and everything else went towards paying bills and Morgana’s retirement. There was nothing left over, and she wouldn’t be able to afford Mordred’s tuition if she got demoted. And Uther knew it, the bastard. Of course, she’d left out that bit when she told Mordred of her history. He needed context, but he certainly didn’t need to worry about her finances; he was just a kid.

“Oh, okay!” Mordred called back down. “Hey, if you want to work on something else, I can run through your case with you!”

Morgana sighed and started the washing machine and the dryer before trudging up the stairs. She went into her office and grabbed the case file out of her bag, as well as a template she had made a couple years ago for the judge of the case, which Mordred would read while she went through her introduction. She had also printed a copy of her witness’ affidavit, which was public record, and she grabbed that as well. Mordred would read it and refer to that when she examined the witness. The whole thing reminded her of mock trial, which she had done with Merlin and Arthur in high school, before she left. _Although_ , she thought mischievously _, I think Mordred is better at this than Merlin_.

Mordred was sitting in the living room with the small gavel he’d gotten Morgana for Mother’s Day last year. She handed him the judge template and the affidavit, and he began to read.

After about an hour of this, Morgana made burgers for lunch, handing one to Mordred as they took a break from the mock trial and watched television. Mordred chose to turn on a movie from Netflix, _The Road to El Dorado_ , an old favorite of Morgana’s. They watched, laughing together, comfortable, full of food, and happy. When the movie was over, Morgana looked at her watch and sighed. It was time to get ready. She got in the upstairs shower, while Mordred went to the downstairs one. When Morgana got out, she wrapped a towel around her hair and put on her robe and went to Mordred’s room. She could still hear the shower running downstairs. She went to his closet and opened it up, analyzing the clothing options before her. She pulled out a pair of navy trousers, a brown belt, and a sky blue button-up shirt, laying them on his bed. Then she moved over to one of his drawers and got a pair of navy socks out, and pulled out a pair of brown loafers from one of the cubbies in Mordred’s shoe organizer, placing the shoes and socks next to the bed. She heard the shower click off downstairs, and she made her way to her own room to get ready.

Morgana pulled out a few different options. Uther had told her to wear a dress which she wasn’t thrilled about; if she had to go see him against her will, she’d rather be more comfortable. Unfortunately, that was not an option in this case. She pulled out a lavender dress with lace embellishments that went to her knees and covered her shoulders like a wide tank top, a pair of cream-colored leggings, her brown boots, and a jean jacket, smirking. If she had to wear a dress, then she was going to accessorize to make the look appear more casual. Like hell would she be formal for Uther fucking Pendragon.

She got dressed, adding a white crystal on a black cord to her ensemble. She french braided the top and front of her hair to pull it back from her face, leaving the rest of it in tousled waves, bordering on messy. She figured that was another _fuck you_ to Uther; looking like she hadn’t even tried to get ready. Uther was all about being prim and proper, and Morgana was not having his bullshit.

Mordred knocked on the door. “Come in,” Morgana chimed, trying to sound cheerful and optimistic for her son. He entered, his shirt buttoned all the way up, and he was carrying a dark blue tie.

“Mom, I need help tying my tie,” He said, holding the offending piece of clothing out to her.

“Honey, why are you putting on a tie? You hate ties.”

“You said Uncle Uther wanted us to look nice.”

Morgana sighed. “We don’t do anything we don’t want to do, especially not because of Uther Pendragon.”

“Then why are we going to this?”

 _Good question._ “Because he is still family, and it’s time to make amends. You have to look nice, but you don’t have to be uncomfortable. Your comfort is first and foremost. So ditch the tie, and unbutton the top one there. See, now isn’t that better? Why don’t you go grab a cookie out of the jar before Dad and Uncle Art get here?” Mordred grinned, running to his room to drop off the dreaded necktie, and then dashing to the kitchen for a cookie.

He called from the kitchen, “Do you want one?”

“No thanks! I’m all cookied out!”

Morgana packed up her purse. She threw in some crackers (to help sober her up after dinner), and made sure she had tissues, wet wipes, a small bottle of water, and a travel first aid kit. First rule of overprotective motherhood: prepare for everything.

Just as she was doing her final checks, she heard a honk from the driveway. “Dad’s here!” Mordred called. Morgana did her last checks, grabbed her keys, and she and Mordred walked out the door. While he dashed down the patio stairs to the car waiting in the driveway, Morgana closed and locked the door behind them before joining her son in the backseat of Arthurs black SUV.

The drive was uneventful. Mordred chatted with Merlin and Arthur, who responded somewhat distractedly, as Arthur was focusing on driving and he and Merlin were both checking on Morgana through the rearview mirror. Arthur had handed her the flask as she entered the car, and she was taking small sips when Mordred wasn’t looking.

After 45 minutes of driving, they finally arrived at the Pendragon estate. It was a massive castle-looking mansion, with expansive grounds. Morgana remembered Winter Balls and staying pristinely clean and being confined to the path when playing and restriction. She remembered a feeling of being trapped. Mordred placed his hand on his mother’s, looking into her eyes, concerned. Looking back at him grounded her, reminding her that she had escaped all of that, and she wasn’t trapped there anymore.

As they pulled up the drive to the main circle, Arthur parked the car next to the sedan belonging to Merlin’s parents, as well as another sedan that Morgana didn’t recognize. They all exited, Morgana tucking the flask away into the confines of her bag, in a place that was easy to reach, but far enough down that no one could see it if she left it open and somewhere. As they walked in, Morgana’s fingers of her left hand tapping nervously against her left palm, Mordred took his mother’s right hand. She looked over at him, concerned. He looked nervous, but was putting on his “knight face”, which is what the two of them called the guarded expression he wore now since his first day of preschool. She let go of his hand to wrap her arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her side, kissing the top of his head reassuringly. Arthur rang the bell, and a gentleman around Morgana, Arthur, and Merlin’s age answered the door. He introduced himself as George, the new butler for the estate.

George led them into the foyer, where a maid took Merlin, Arthur, and Mordred’s jackets. Morgana declined the offer to take her denim jacket, rolling up her sleeves to her elbows instead. She remembered the estate being cold, similar to its patriarch in that respect. She’d be able to roll down her sleeves should she get cold, and should she get warm, she would drape her jacket on the back of her chair (an action Uther despised, which only solidified Morgana’s decision. Once all of the jackets were given to the maid, George led them to the sitting room off of the foyer.

In the lounge, Balinor and Hunith sat on the couch, across from Gaius. Mordred ran towards his grandparents, “Nanna, Gamps!” while Merlin, Morgana, and Arthur shook hands with Gaius. They turned to hug Balinor and Hunith one at a time after they pulled back from hugging Mordred. While they greeted the elder Emrys’, Mordred shyly said hello to Gaius.

“Hello Headmaster Borden,” he said bashfully.

Gaius smiled wide, pulling a bag of fruit snacks from his pocket and discreetly passing them to Mordred, whose eyes lit up with glee. He laughed mirthfully. “Hello to you too, young man.”

Arthur turned to Gaius. “Do you know where my father is?”

“I’m right here, son.” Uther had appeared in the door opposite from where Morgana and company had entered the sitting room. “I was just checking on dinner. Everything appears to be in order, now that I’ve had Ruth replace the red napkins with the gold ones. Honestly, I gave specific instructions. Once she fixes that, we’ll go in.”

Morgana rolled her eyes as Arthur approached his father. Uther and Arthur briefly embraced, before Uther strode forward to Merlin to shake his hand. Next, he turned to Morgana.

“Well, my dear, it’s been awhile. You look well. How is everything at the firm?”

 _Really? That’s all you have to say to me, you sick bastard?! It’s been eleven years since you kicked me out when I was pregnant, and you want to make small talk?!_ Morgana’s eyes flashed while these thoughts ran rampant through her mind, but she quickly composed herself. “I’m well, thank you. Work has been wonderful. I’ve been preparing for my first court session with the firm, and I feel prepared.”

“Well, it’s always best to keep practicing,” Uther began. Morgana smiled, sickly sweet and entirely false. “Your parents would be so proud.”

“Yeah, they would be.” Morgana said each word with cold annunciation and punctuation. Uther did _not_ get to speak to her about her parents, not after they trusted care of their daughter to him and he failed in every regard.

An awkward silence fell as Morgana stared Uther down with her steely glare. Uther looked back, seemingly indifferent to Morgana’s malice. If he noticed, he certainly didn’t show it. He turned, finally facing Mordred.

“And this must be my great nephew! It’s nice to meet you. I’m sure your mother has told you, I’m your Great Uncle Uther. Arthur tells me you like chocolate pudding, so we’re going to have that for dessert,” Uther’s tone was full of fake enthusiasm, as one typically talks to a child about half of Mordred’s age. When Mordred didn’t speak, Uther tried again to elicit a reaction. “Well? What do you think? Doesn’t pudding sound nice?”

Mordred nodded and gave a mumbled “yes, sir” in response, all his bravado from the other night gone. Uther nodded with satisfaction.

Morgana was already angry, but it turned to fury when Uther addressed her again; “You need to work on your son’s manners, Morgana. He didn’t respond, and he failed to introduce himself. Did I teach you nothing about etiquette?”

Morgana gritted her teeth for a minute, before slowly and carefully responding, “He probably thought that you already knew his name, since you’re the one who demanded this dinner.” Her tone was cool, a verbal cold shoulder.

Uther sneered, and opened his mouth to retort. But before he could, Ruth (whom Morgana remembered as being a maid when she had lived with the Pendragons) entered the room and whispered in Uther’s ear, no doubt telling him that dinner was ready to be served. Uther closed his mouth, and gestured to the doors to the great hall behind him, letting his guests know that they should enter. Gaius, then Balinor and Hunith, then Mordred, Merlin, and Arthur filed into the Hall. Morgana brought up the rear as Uther held the door for everyone.

Just as Morgana was about to step into the hall, Uther’s hand shot out and gripped her bicep, pulling her closer just long enough to whisper into her ear, “This conversation isn’t over.”


	11. Chapter 11

Dinner, while tense, passed without major incident. Morgana’s heart broke, however, for Merlin and Arthur. Uther had decided the seats, so Uther was at the head of the table, Arthur sat to Uther’s right, and Morgana to Uther’s left. Balinor and Hunith sat to Arthur’s right, and Mordred sat to Morgana’s left, with Merlin on Mordred’s left, and Gaius at the foot of the table. Merlin and Arthur were seated as far away from each other as physically possible. Morgana had figured that Arthur and Merlin would sit together across from Hunith and Balinor, being the couples, and then Gaius would sit next to Balinor and Hunith, while Mordred would sit to his father’s right, and Morgana would take the foot of the table. This was the arrangement that made the most sense in her mind, at any rate. But Uther had other plans. It was clear that he didn’t approve of Merlin and Arthur like he had claimed when they got engaged. When Arthur showed Uther the gold band he wore, Morgana could clearly see the thinly veiled distaste in his expression. Arthur’s face fell, slightly, before plastering a fake smile on his face when he caught Mordred and Merlin looking at him with worry.

Morgana groaned inwardly.  _ Is this how it’s going to be every Sunday night? _ At least, for the following weeks, Hunith and Balinor and Gaius wouldn’t be there. Not to say that Morgana wasn’t grateful to them, she was glad to see them, truly. But, at least, if they weren’t there, Merlin would be able to sit next to Arthur during the weekly dinners, since there was not a snowball’s chance in hell that Uther was separating Morgana from her son, no way.

Morgana didn’t speak during the dinner unless spoken to, and even then, she relegated her responses to just one or two polite sentences. She was desperately trying to keep in control. She considered cutting herself off from the wine to help with the control, but, frankly, it was her only solace other than Mordred. Besides, she made sure she wasn’t drunk, just buzzed enough to smile through Uther’s bullshit and not strangle him with her bare hands. Morgana kept her hands in her lap, wringing them from time to time, only stopping to take a bite of her food or to comb her fingers through Mordred’s hair affectionately, giving him reassuring smiles as she did so. 

When everyone was finished, Uther snapped his fingers, and the staff, who were waiting silently on the outskirts of the room, rushed forward to replace their dinner dishes with crystal bowls filled with chocolate pudding with a dollop of cream on top of each. All except Morgana, whose crystal bowl instead contained mint ice cream. Ruth gave her a conspiratorial wink, and Morgana grinned back. She couldn’t believe Ruth remembered. Then again, she had spent more time with Morgana and Arthur than Uther himself had.

Uther clearly noticed, giving Ruth a brief glare, though not nearly as powerful as the ones he usually threw Morgana’s way. Morgana wasn’t worried for Ruth’s job, though. Uther gave her a hard time, but everyone knew that he couldn’t run the household if it weren’t for her. No one knew the ins and outs of the manor like Ruth did, and she was excellent at managing the rest of the staff. Though she had been just a maid when Morgana lived there, Ruth had sent her letters informing her of Arthur’s well-being, as well as the goings-on in the house, as she knew that Morgana had likely (definitely) isolated herself after she moved away, and figured she could use some kind of company, even if Ruth couldn’t actually be there for her. What she lacked in physical presence she made up in spirit. After Arthur moved out and went to college, Morgana and Ruth lost touch, though Morgana knew that she had gotten married to the brother of the head butler and had a child. She had her own life, and though they were no longer close, Morgana was happy for her. And she was definitely happy for her favorite ice cream.

If anyone else at the table noticed the exchange between Morgana, Ruth, and Uther, they pretended otherwise. No one even commented on Morgana’s dessert being different, choosing instead to mind their own business instead of getting involved in “more Pendragon drama”, as Balinor often called it outside of Uther’s presence. Even Arthur agreed, as he had drifted from his father since starting college, and especially since he started dating Merlin. They had been close, and sometimes Arthur missed that, but he knew that it couldn’t last forever. He and his father had become diametrically opposed over the years, as evidenced by Uther’s struggle to accept Arthur’s sexuality. It was times like this that he longed to have known his mother. Everyone who had known Ygraine told him that she was the most kind, compassionate, and understanding person they had ever known. If only he had gotten the opportunity to know her and grow up with her, he wouldn’t’ve taken so long to admit his feelings, wouldn’t’ve had to watch Morgana leave, wouldn’t have the strained relationship with his father that he currently was struggling with. Morgana saw all of this reflected in his eyes as he morosely ate his pudding, trying to hide his feelings from the rest of the table. But Morgana saw right through it. They may technically be cousins, but Arthur was her brother in all but blood. 

He caught her staring, and made eye contact with her. She nodded, giving him a pitying look that was really more compassion than pity, trying to communicate with her eyes that,  _ at least we still have each other _ . Arthur nodded back, seemingly understanding. 

No one spoke much through desert, it already being tense. Once everyone was finished, Uther stood. “If you would like to leave, you are free to. Except Morgana; I need to have a word with you, in private.”

Morgana groaned inwardly. Merlin caught this, and spoke up. “Sir, I’m sorry, but we all drove together, so if we leave, Morgana has no way home. And we do need to get going, as it is almost Mordred’s bedtime…”

Uther held up a hand, commanding attention of the room. “Then please, wait in the hall while I speak to her. She won’t be long.”

Merlin gave Morgana a look of pity and a subtle shrug as he took Mordred by the hand and led him out of the room. Arthur gave Uther a look of confusion, and it looked like he wanted to say something, but he thought better and followed Merlin to the exit, closing the door behind him. Morgana took in a long bracing breath before turning to face Uther.

They stood in terse silence for a moment. Morgana was the first to speak. “So, are you going to tell me why I’m not going home to tuck my son in right now?” she said bitterly. She hadn’t meant to sound so confrontational, but she was tired and tipsy and more than a little pissed off, and her tone reflected the latter heavily.

“Young lady, I taught you better than that. You know -”

“No, I don’t ‘know’, considering that you left me to my own devices my whole life. My parents died, and they trusted you to raise me! I was alone, scared, vulnerable, and you did nothing! You were the closest thing I had left to family and you pushed me away; you were cold and distant and seemed to want nothing to do with me. And then, when I got pregnant and was the most scared I’d been since my parents died, you kicked me out! And then I was truly alone, wasn’t I? Did you ever care? Did you ever wonder what became of me before I reached out to Arthur for a job? Or were you content to ignore your promise to your best friend and brother of your wife, by throwing his only child to the proverbial wolves?” Morgana’s words burst out, the pressure in her chest building and building until, with the dying echo of her voice in the dining room, it left her body in a  _ woosh _ of air.

Uther stood, stunned. He had expected to be the one yelling, but the tables had been turned on him. All of this made him angrier, his blood beginning to boil, his face going purple with rage. His voice boomed, “I don’t have to explain myself to you! If you had only agreed to my demands, you could have come home! Your parents would have turned in their graves seeing you pregnant! How could you dishonor their memory like that?!”

“I was a child, I didn’t know better. Perhaps if someone had been there to guide me, teach me more about my family, and help me through the worst days of my life, everything would have been fine!” Morgana roared back. She took a deep breath, and then slowly, tone steady, “But you know what? I’m glad I did it. I have a wonderful, beautiful son, who I love more than anything in this world. And finally, after a long time of hardship, isolation, and self-loathing, I’m in a good place. I have a job that I love, a child that I love, friends that I love, and a family that I love. And you are in no way a part of it.” In her mind, Morgana dropped a microphone with a smug smile. She turned on her heel, ready to walk out of the room, get in the car, and never come back.

Uther stopped her. “Well I’m going to be a part of it, otherwise you’ll never find out what happened to your parents that night.”

Morgana stopped cold in her tracks, turning to Uther with a wild look of pure rage in her eyes. She closed them, counted to ten, remembering her coping mechanisms from therapy, before she opened her eyes and said with deadly ice lacing her voice, “You. Bastard. You’ve known what happened this whole time? And you kept this from me?”

“Yes. And I will continue to keep it from you until I think you’ve earned it. Until then, you will be here every Sunday evening for dinner. You may bring Merlin, Arthur, and your son, but no one else. You will sit in your seat, make polite and friendly conversation, and be the perfect guest. Additionally, you will teach your son some better manners, and encourage him to get to know me.”

“Why? You didn’t even want him born in the first place. Why are you so eager to know him now?”

“Because my son is marrying his father, and I need to make sure that you and your offspring will not be a problem for Arthur. He carries the Pendragon legacy, and you and your precious little ‘family’, as you refer to them as, will not get in the way of his success. I clearly have to keep a closer eye on you, and if this is how it must be done, so be it.” An air of finality accompanied Uther’s words, as his tone was dangerously serious.

Morgana glared back, her lips curling into a snarl. “I guess I’ll see you next week then.” Her speech was calculated, forced, and barely contained the civility demanded of her by her uncle.

He gave her a cruel sneer. “And next time, you will look more presentable.”

Morgana seethed as she strode out of the room. Merlin and Arthur clearly saw the unbridled fury in her eyes. Luckily, Mordred was too tired to notice, as he was slumped against Arthur’s shoulder (Arthur had picked him up while they waited in the foyer, noticing his exhaustion). Merlin and Arthur gave her questioning looks, which she responded with a tired shake of her head. She couldn’t deal with any more drama tonight; she’d tell them over the next few days.

“Let’s go home.”


	12. Chapter 12

While Morgana was having one of the most tumultuous weekends of her life, Gwen on the other hand was having probably one of the most boring weekends of her life. She’d done the lesson plans for the first month before school had started, so she had no work to do, and she had no plans. She spent Friday night curled up with a book that disinterested her so much, she stopped trying after chapter 11, which wasn’t like Gwen at all. She tried to watch a movie, but even that didn’t strike her as interesting. _Just one of those days, I guess_ , she thought to herself bitterly. Saturday was spent catnapping and eating ice cream. She realized that she’d been exclusively eating the mint chocolate chip ice cream, and her mind flashed to Morgana. She sat up and stared at Morgana’s number in her phone, debating whether or not to call her, for a solid ten minutes, two halves of her mind battling in a rigorous debate the pros and cons of making the call. In the end, she decided against it, since she knew Morgana had dinner with her estranged family the following day. So she went back to attempting to enjoy Netflix, but still, nothing gave her any appeal. She tried drawing or writing poetry, two of her favorite hobbies, but nothing she did really excited her (plus most of her work in these areas began reflecting a certain raven-haired beauty, which was all the more frustrating for Gwen). She was just in a slump. Come Sunday, she’d hit her limit, and she called up her brother and Gwaine, asking them to come over.

When they arrived at her apartment, Elyon opened the door with the spare key, and as they entered, they looked around in shock. Papers containing poems and drawings were strewn everywhere, most of them crumpled into paper balls. Elyon picked one up, grimaced, and showed it to Gwaine, who openly winced. It was so bad and cheesy and corny, they couldn’t stand it. Gwaine snagged a sketch off the back of the couch. This was much better than the poem, and he recognized the subject, pointing it out to Elyon.

“No wonder it’s the only thing clean here, it looks just like Morgana,” Gwaine pointed out.

“That’s probably why she’s so pissed. She’s fucking smitten, and it’s only been a week,” Elyon explained.

Gwen cleared her throat. The men jumped, spinning quickly to find Gwen standing behind them, arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. Gwen’s look reflected the disaster that was her apartment; old, rumpled pjs, messy bedhead, and a tired expression were the prominent points that Gwaine and Elyon noticed, Gwen giving each of them a glare as they pointedly analyzed her appearance.

“I know, I know, I’m a complete disaster. I think I just need to talk everything out and get it all off my chest. That’s why I called you guys; if I talk things out with other human beings, I can figure out my feelings and how to get over them and move on.”

“Alright, but if I’m doing this, I need some whiskey,” Gwaine commented as he pulled a bottle out of his bag. Elyon was in the kitchen grabbing a beer from the fridge, and he grabbed a glass for Gwaine while he was there. Gwaine gave him a cheesy grin as he set the glass down and began to pour.

Gwen spent the afternoon pacing around the living room, talking about all the things she found alluring in Morgana. Her hair, her eyes, her figure, her smile, her laugh, her sense of humor, her slight accent (her mother was from Ireland, Morgana had told Gwen), her nose, her faint freckles, barely noticeable on her pale skin. While Gwen talked about this, Gwaine feigned gagging, and Gwen whacked him upside the head playfully, while Elyon laughed and Gwaine fake-pouted until Gwen began laughing as well. The day was spent in this teasing manner, and Gwen felt her anxiety about having feelings for Morgana lessening. She could handle some unrequited feelings, as long as she had her support system, which albeit was not always the most helpful, but was at the very least entertaining.

So when Gwen looked up from her desk in her classroom on Monday morning to find Morgana standing there, she did her best to remember that, but succeeded more in getting lost in Morgana’s eyes. They were tricky things, her eyes. Half pale blue, half pale green, all radiantly gorgeous. Morgana cleared her throat, and Gwen shook her head subtly and finally spoke.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting to see you until this weekend.” Gwen, Morgana, Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Gwaine, and Elyon had made a groupchat on Saturday and were planning to meet the following Saturday for game night.

“Well, that was the plan, but I needed to talk to you about something,” Morgana responded cryptically. Gwen gazed at her curiously. It was quite early; none of the other students would be arriving for about twenty minutes. Gwen glanced behind Morgana to locate Mordred, who sat quietly at his desk on the other side of the classroom, nose buried in a book. Gwen gestured at the chair on the other side of her desk, indicating for Morgana to sit and talk.

Morgana took a sharp, bracing inhale, before she began. “Well, as you know, Mordred and I had dinner with my horrible uncle last night.”

“Yeah, I remember you telling me about that. How did it go? Well, I suppose it couldn’t’ve gone too well, otherwise we likely wouldn’t be having a private conversation about it at 7:15 on a Monday morning.”

Morgana nodded solemnly. “Quite right. See, I knew it was going to be messy, but I didn’t think it would be this disastrous…” Morgana recounted the previous night’s events to Gwen, her eyes widening in shock and incredulousness at appropriate times, gasping when she heard Uther’s cruel words.

“Holy shit, what a plot twist.” Gwen whispered in exclamation when Morgana was finished with her tale. “That’s absolutely horrible.”

“I know. The reason I’m telling you now, instead of waiting until Saturday, is because I’m worried about Mordred. I know he had to have picked up on some of the tension last night, and I’m just hoping to a merciful god that he didn’t hear any of Uther and my fight last night. But Uther did insult his manners directly besides that, so I’m just a little worried about him, and I know he’ll try to put on a brave front for me. That’s why, if you could, I would ask you to keep a bit more of an eye on him, and call or text me if you see anything off about him. Please,” Morgana begged. Gwen looked into her pleading eyes, and found that she couldn’t say no even if she wanted to. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to refuse those eyes. Plus, Morgana’s cause was just, and the favor she asked wasn’t a tremendous one. Gwen agreed wholeheartedly.

Morgana thanked her profusely as the two women stood and Gwen stepped out from behind her desk to offer her a hug. The taller woman swept Gwen into her embrace, her arms around Gwen’s shoulders, as Gwen’s went to her waist. Gwen could feel her slim, but surprisingly toned abdomen beneath her hands, and felt a wave of heat wash over her. Meanwhile, Morgana was being bludgeoned with the intoxicatingly sweet aroma of Gwen’s shampoo, which smelled of oranges and berries, like a summer’s breeze. They both pulled back reluctantly, each trying to hide their disappointment, neither noticing the change in the other’s breathing as it hitched in each of their chests.

They bid each other farewell, as Morgana crossed the room to kiss her son on the head, waving back at Gwen as she walked out of the door. Gwen sighed. She was so screwed. No amount of talking was getting her over this.

 

***

 

The rest of Gwen’s day was rather quiet. She went about her normal routine, taking attendance, getting through the lecture plans, and releasing the students for their group work before their lunch bell. All the while, she kept an eye on Mordred. He seemed perfectly alright, chatting emphatically with his friends, Percival and Freya. When the bell rang for lunch, while the other students dashed to the door, lunch money and/or lunch boxes clutched in hand, Mordred lagged behind. He pulled his packed lunch from his bag, and turned to Gwen instead of to the door. Gwen raised an eyebrow at him curiously, before beckoning him to her desk, where she pulled out her own lunch. Mordred sat down, unpacked his lunch, and began eating in amicable silence with Gwen. While they ate, Gwen studied Mordred’s face, trying to see through his eyes into his mind to figure out what was going on. He hadn’t eaten with her since their second day of class, and although she had assured him that he could eat with her any time, she was still concerned.

“So what’s going on, dude? Not that I’m not glad for your company, but why aren’t you eating with Percival and Freya? Is everything alright?” Gwen searched Mordred’s face for answers as he sighed and put down his sandwich, which he was only halfway through.

Mordred searched Gwen’s eyes as she peered into his own. “I like you, Miss Mallory. I know my mom likes you, and she trusts you. That’s why I need your help. I’m worried about my mom, but I don’t want her to worry about me any more than she has to, because I know she’s got a lot on her plate. Dad and Uncle Art want to help, but I think Mom will figure out something is up if they start helping a lot more. Dad’s awful at keeping secrets, and Uncle Art isn’t subtle.”

Gwen saluted Mordred playfully. “Reporting for duty, sir! What are my marching orders?”

Mordred giggled before responding. “I want you to hang out more with my mom. You’re her only real friend other than Dad and Uncle Art, and the first friend she’s made since I can remember. Please, be her best friend. She needs one. And I know you like her and want to be friends, too. Mom told me your only friends are your brother and his best friend.”

“First off, ouch. Second off, I know your mother didn’t say “only”. Third off, they are not my _only_ friends, they’re just… okay, maybe they are my only friends. But that’s besides the point. I would love to be your mom’s best friend, but it’s not that easy. These things take time. And right now, I barely know your mother. I can’t be best friends with her if I hardly know her, no matter how much I like her.”

Mordred nodded. “I know that. That’s why I want you to ask my mom and I over for dinner tonight. Monday is takeout night for us, and you were over last week, so I figure you’re free again. We could switch who hosts Monday night dinner.” Mordred paused a moment, before he blushed scarlet. “Sorry, I just realized I invited us over to your house, and I didn’t mean for that. Sorry.”

“It’s alright. You’re right; I have no plans after school, and I think that would be a great way to get to know your mom.” The bell rang, making Gwen and Mordred jump slightly. “Why don’t you run along to recess, and I’ll call your mom and invite the two of you over for dinner this evening, and set up weekly plans. Sound good?”

Mordred nodded enthusiastically and gave Gwen a bright grin and a thumbs up before practically skipping with glee out the door. Gwen shook her head in amusement, before slumping back in her chair once Mordred was out of view.

 _How am I supposed to get over my stupid crush now if she’s going to be coming over once a week. Not to mention game night, which we were hoping would become a weekly occurrence!_ Gwen’s mind began to panic. _But on the other hand… if she’s over every week, maybe you’ll become close enough friends that you won’t be able to see her in any other context beyond a platonic one! It’s kinda perfect, thank you Mordred!_

With a satisfied nod, Gwen made the call.

Morgana picked up after three rings. “Hello?”

“Hey, Morgana, it’s Gwen. Though I suppose you have caller ID so you probably knew that.” Gwen could hear Morgana chuckling on the other end of the line.

“Yes, I knew it was you. Good to hear from you! How’s your day? How’s Mordred?”

“Everything’s great, Mordred’s great. I was actually calling because I had an idea.”

“What idea?”

“Well, remember how I came over for dinner last week?”

“Yeah. Do you want to come over again?”

“No!” Gwen winced. “No, I mean, yes I would, but not tonight. Uh, what I meant was, I was thinking you and Mordred could come over to my place for dinner tonight? If you guys were free, I mean. And if you wanted to, we could make it a weekly thing and alternate who hosts? I don’t know, I just thought it would be nice, so we don’t go an entire week without seeing each other, since you’re kinda my only friend, outside of Elyon and Gwaine of course -”

Morgana laughed heartily on the other end. “Whoa, slow down there tiger. I would love to come over this evening. I’ll have Mordred get changed and ready to go as soon as I get home from work.” Morgana paused for a moment. “And you’re kinda my only friend outside of Arthur and Merlin, too, so I think this would be good for both of us.”

“Perfect, see you around 6:30? I’ll text you my address.”

“Perfect.”

“Okay, bye!”

“Bye,” Morgana said, something unreadable in her voice. Anticipation? Fondness? If Gwen didn’t know better, she’d think it was loving adoration in her voice, the kind the one hears in the tones of couples that had been together for decades.

God, did she want that with Morgana, she thought to herself as she hung up the phone, before pinching her arm lightly to snap herself out of it. She couldn't.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I've been swamped with school and personal stuff, and I just haven't had the motivation to finish this chapter for a while. I'm gonna try to keep up my motivation and finish this. 
> 
> Enjoy!

After Gwen left work, she raced home to clean up her apartment before Mordred and Morgana would arrive, ordering the same chinese food as they’d had last time to be delivered. By the time her guests arrived, Gwen’s apartment looked relatively clean, and the food was stacked on the coffee table in the living room. This time, they chose to watch  _ The Office _ on Netflix, watching the episode where Stanley has a heart attack, which was Gwen’s favorite. Morgana had never gotten that far in  _ The Office _ , being deterred by the first season, but thoroughly enjoyed herself. At least, she was, until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Mordred was sitting across the couch from the two adults, and Gwen was sitting beside her. Gwen’s shoulder, being closer and at a more convenient height, became Morgana’s pillow as she dozed off halfway through the second episode. Gwen stayed perfectly still, not wanting to wake her, as Mordred remained oblivious, eyes and attention plastered to the screen. Gwen tried to relax instead of being tense, but it took some time, especially as an intense blush invaded her cheeks. The thing that finally did help her relax was the scent of Morgana’s shampoo, which smelled of cherries. Gwen settled in, letting the episodes continue, breathing in the scent of Morgana’s shampoo until she woke Morgana about an hour later by gently tapping and shaking Morgana’s shoulder that wasn’t pressed into her arm.

 

“Mm, what time is it?” Morgana grumbled groggily, eyes still closed, head still leaning on Gwen’s (incredibly comfy, in Morgana’s subconscious opinion) shoulder as she rubbed her eyes and nuzzled into Gwen’s neck sleepily, causing Gwen to blush and tense slightly, not allowing herself to lean into it.

 

“It’s eight o’clock, and Mordred said his bedtime is at nine before you dozed off,” Gwen replied gently, giving Morgana all the time she needed. “I wanted you to have some time to wake up before you drove home.”

 

Finally, Morgana opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She turned her head to survey the room, finally turning to see Gwen’s face smiling (affectionately? She was too tired to tell) at her from very nearby. It was then that Morgana realized that her headrest was actually Gwen, and her head popped up from her shoulder quickly, apology on her tongue, before Gwen stopped her in her tracks by holding up her hand.

 

“Whoa there, relax. It’s totally okay. Mordred said you’d had a few late nights. He guessed that you didn’t sleep well last night, either.”

 

Morgana looked around again, searching for her son. Mordred was also conked out on the other end of the couch, head thrown back against the back of the couch, mouth open, snoring quietly and adorably.

 

She looked at Gwen with gratitude. “He’s right, I didn’t sleep well, and then I had a stressful day at work, as one of my clients revealed that he lied in his affidavit, so that’s all a complete mess now. I’m sorry for dumping this all on you.”

 

“Hey, no worries. What are friends for?” Gwen leaned her arm on the back of the couch, propping her head on her hand as she leaned forward, indicating for Morgana to continue. Morgana sighed, then explained the whole thing with her client, as Gwen already knew about the disaster with Uther. Gwen nodded sympathetically as she spoke.

 

“Thank you again, so much, Gwen. You’re an...  _ amazing _ friend. Honestly, I don’t feel comfortable sharing this stuff with anyone else. Gwen, you truly are my best friend, even if it has only been a week,” Morgana laughed at her last comment, Gwen joining in. Gwen also thought about how much she loved hearing Morgana say her name, while Morgana revelled in letting Gwen’s name roll off her tongue, as it was sweet to hear and fun to say. Neither of them realized that they’d been leaning in, until their noses were only an inch apart. Morgana’s eyes flitted closed, ready to close the remaining distance…

 

Mordred yawned loudly, causing the two women to jump away from each other. Morgana smiled awkwardly and apologetically, as she went and shook Mordred the rest of the way awake, telling him to get his shoes and get ready to go, as she cursed herself with getting too carried away. Meanwhile, Gwen’s head was spinning, one half elated and overcome with joy, the other half angry and scolding herself for letting things go that far, especially while Mordred was in the room. Morgana and Mordred made a kind of hasty exit, each hugging Gwen goodbye before walking out the door. This time, it was Gwen who collapsed against her door as it closed behind them, head in hands, mind at war.

 

***

 

Gwen and Morgana each did their best to clear that moment from their minds, each believing it to be (a) a fluke, a result of being tired and close, and (b) a mistake that should’ve never happened, and should never happen again. While this hurt each of them, they knew it was for the best.  _ After all _ , they each thought to themselves individually, unaware of the others’ thoughts,  _ she probably doesn’t like me back anyway _ . They were so busy trying to deny their feelings for each other that they projected that denial onto each other. Luckily, Morgana didn’t think Mordred had noticed, and was relieved.

 

So they continued on as normal, silently and mutually agreeing to pretend that it had never happened to begin with, continuing their daily routines until Saturday, which was game night.

Game night was to be hosted at Elyon and Gwaine’s large 3-bedroom apartment (one for Elyon, one for Gwaine, and one guest room) above the diner. Hunith and Balinor were babysitting, and Arthur and Merlin were picking up Morgana, as Morgana was on the way and there was limited parking at the diner, which would be under the supervision of the assistant manager during game night, as per usual (since this was a tradition of Gwen, Elyon, and Gwaine for several years now). Lancelot, Gwen, and the Emrys/Pendragon/Fay clan would all be arriving separately, each person bringing one game for consideration. Morgana was bringing Monopoly, Arthur was bringing Risk, Merlin was bringing Poker, and Gwen was bringing a card game called What Do You Meme. Gwaine and Elyon already had Cards Against Humanity and Funemployed. Gwen was bringing wine, Morgana was bringing chips and dip, and Arthur and Merlin were on pizza duty. Gwaine determined that since he supplied the location, he shouldn’t have to bring anything. Elyon reminded him that technically it wasn’t his apartment, Elyon just let him stay there, since he worked at the diner below that Elyon owned. Gwaine sighed and offered to get a chocolate cake, which was meant with emphatic agreement from Gwen and Merlin, as they were the biggest chocoholics any of the others had ever met.

 

They decided to forego Monopoly, for the sake of retaining friendship. Risk was in the same boat. Gwen didn’t know how to play poker, so they decided to do that another night. They played Uno to get started, and then Cards Against Humanity and funemployed for a few hours. They played in a way where they picked the best card and the worst card, and the worst card had to drink, with the exception of Gwen and Merlin (Arthur determined that Merlin spent entirely too much time at the tavern, so it was his turn to be the designated driver). After a while, they were telling stories and laughing over their drinks. 

 

As the laughter faded away to companionable silence, a slightly tipsy Morgana (whose legs were in Gwen’s lap) had an idea. “We should play Paranoia!” she declared.

 

Everyone looked up, but Morgana wasn’t paying attention to any of the pairs of eyes on her, save one. Looking only into Gwen’s twin pools of chocolate, she was lost in thought a moment, before remembering what she was doing and snapping back to attention, blushing slightly, which if anyone asked, she would blame on the wine.

 

“Oh, it’s like truth or dare, but so much better. Let’s say it’s my turn. I whisper a question to someone, say, Merlin. He says his answer out loud. Then I flip a flip flop. If it lands with the bottom of the shoe down, then Merlin has to say what the question was. If the bottom of the shoe lands face up, then the question remains a secret, and then Merlin picks someone to ask a question to. If the question stayed a secret before, he can reuse it if he wants. If the question was revealed, it can’t be used again  _ unless _ the answerer opens it up to the group. If they do, then everyone  _ has _ to answer the question, including whoever asked it to begin with! Isn’t that great?!”

 

“Hoo boy, this just got interesting!” Gwaine crowed.

 

Elyon groaned. “Great, now we’ve given him ideas, motive, means, and opportunity. He’s always mean in truth or dare, and this is that on crack. Be prepared for the dirtiest questions you’ve ever been or ever will be asked,” he warned.

 

“Well, if Gwaine has an idea, he can go first!” Gwen declared.

 

“Oh, and we should make it where the answers have to be someone in the group! It’s more fun that way!” Morgana declared, eliciting more groans and protests from Elyon, and more bordering-on-evil grins from Gwaine.

 

“Alrighty, who should my first victim be…” Gwaine mused. “Morgana! You are lucky contestant number one!”

 

Gwaine stood from his seat and strode over to Morgana, and leaned in close. “We’ll start with a classic. Bed, Wed, Behead. In that order, please.”

 

“Ooh, good one, but basic,” Morgana whispered back. Gwaine gave a smirk as he retreated back to his seat, one eyebrow raised, awaiting a response. Morgana returned the look, her eyebrow arching. Gwen, from her seat next to Morgana, thought she’d never seen anything sexier. She blamed this train of thought on the alcohol.

 

“Okay, I’m gonna go Merlin, Gwen, Gwaine.” Morgana flipped the flip-flop. It landed right side up. “Shit,” she muttered, taking a sip of Arthur’s whiskey. She needed something stronger than wine for this game.

 

“So the question was bed, wed, behead! So Morggy here is gonna bang Merlin, marry Gwen, and kill me,” Gwaine explained.

 

“Kill you for asking that question, and I’ve already had sex with Merlin, so I know it’s not terrible, and I would only have to do it once. And…” Morgana wracked her brain for an excuse, some cop-out, for why she chose to marry Gwen. “I’m a lesbian, so Gwen was my only real marriage option.” Morgana thought she saw something harden in Gwen’s eyes, but she thought she must’ve been imagining things as a result of the liquor. She shook her head, trying to unsee it, but backtracked anyway. “And because she’s fine as hell,” she said quickly before moving on. “And as revenge for that, Gwaine, I’m opening the question to the group. Arthur, we’ll start with you. Bed, wed, behead?”

 

“Okay, so I’d definitely kill Gwaine,” Arthur started, briefly interrupted by Gwaine’s protest. “I’d marry Merlin, of course, and… I guess I’d screw Gwen. Morgana’s right, you are good-looking. In another alternate universe, where I was straight, you’d probably be my type, I guess,” he explained.

 

“Gee, thanks.” Sarcasm practically dripped from Gwen’s words. “Merlin, you’re next.”

 

“Well, I’d bed Morgana, for the same reasoning she gave. I’d marry Arthur, of course, you great dollop-head. And I’d kill Gwaine, naturally.”

 

“Uh, rude! Anyway, my turn. I’d bed Gwen, because Morgana was right, you are fine. I’d marry Morgana, because you’re much more my type and a legit snack, so I’d get the honor of screwing you every night.”

 

Morgana scoffed. “As if. In your dreams, Gwaine.”

 

“In my dreams indeed,” he responded with a dramatic wink, causing the rest of the group to roll their eyes good-naturedly. “And I’d kill Elyon, so I could have the apartment to myself.”

 

“Fair. I’d screw Morgana, because you are attractive, darling. I’d marry Arthur, because he’s rich and I wouldn’t necessarily have to screw him. And I’d kill Gwaine, obviously.” Elyon nodded decisively, before turning to Gwen, the last in the group, and the only one who had yet to answer.

 

Gwen blushed furiously. “Um… can I use two for the same?”

 

“Nope, sorry darling, that’s not how this works,” Morgana said sweetly and gently.

 

“Uh, okay, then I’d kill Gwaine, duh. And, er, marry Morgana, because she’s sweet and would treat me right. And I guess I’d screw Arthur, because he’s conventionally attractive, and I could put up with that for one night.

 

Arthur feigned a wound to his heart with a wink at Gwen, as Merlin laughed and pretended to soothe his fiance. Gwaine gave another protest, which earned him a shove on the shoulder from Elyon.

 

Gwen looked at Morgana, who gazed back. Morgana hummed appreciatively, and cupped Gwen’s cheek in her hand, before running her fingers lightly down Gwen’s neck in a mock-seductive way, causing Gwen to involuntarily shiver, and Morgana to give a smirk at Gwen’s response. Morgana then poked Gwen’s ribs teasingly, making Gwen laugh, and Morgana threw her arm around Gwen’s shoulder and gave her a (completely platonic, of course) kiss on the temple. 

 

If anyone else noticed, they pretended not to.

 

They continued in this manner for a couple more hours. By 2am, they realized the time, and decided to go home. Gwen had been drinking some, so she was going to stay in Elyon and Gwaine’s guest room. Merlin fished his keys out of his pockets as they went to say goodbye, hugging everyone. Gwen and Morgana were the last two to hug, and they hugged tightly for a long time.

 

“Goodnight, my gorgeous wife,” Gwen teased, causing Morgana to smirk and raise and eyebrow at her as they pulled away from the hug (which, again, Gwen thought was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen). 

 

“Until we meet again, my love,” Morgana said boisterously as she took Gwen’s hand and brought it up to her lips for a kiss, as medieval knights did in the days of old Camelot.

 

Gwen blushed deeply. “Until we meet again,” she echoed as Gwen walked away, throwing another smirk and a wink over her shoulder as she followed Merlin and Arthur out the door, closing it behind her as she blew a kiss.

 

Gwen smiled brightly, feeling a little giddy and lightheaded. She turned around to go to the guest room to find Elyon and Gwaine looking at her with matching knowing grins.

 

“Shut up.” Gwen pushed between and past them, shoving each of their shoulders as they laughed at her furious blush. She disappeared into the guest bedroom, closing the door behind her, hiding a sheepish and loving grin behind her hand as she made her way to bed.


End file.
